Normal (2025) [4K Ultra HD]

Director: Ben Wheatley

Cast: Bob Odenkirk, Henry Winkler, Lena Headey

Release Date: July 14, 2026

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 9/10
Disc Rating: 7.5/10

Synopsis:

For Sheriff Ulysses (Odenkirk), his provisional posting to the quaint Midwestern American town of Normal was meant to be a welcome respite from both his marital woes and recent moral injuries in the line of duty. But when a botched bank robbery interrupts the municipality’s tranquil pace, a dark secret is inadvertently exposed, and Ulysses soon discovers that the town is anything but its namesake.

‘Normal’ joins Ulysses, a man with a complicated past that’s trying to find a respite from his world serving as the interim Sheriff of the small town Normal in Minnesota, a quiet community with a clear connection and sense of community. Initially believing it to be a relaxing couple of months, his sole intention is to leave the quiet community just as he found it. But when a botched bank robbery kicks off a chain of violence and mayhem, Ulysses soon realizes that this town has some dark secrets and it’s in fact just about the furthest thing from normal.

Directed by Ben Wheatley (Free Fire, Meg 2: The Trench) from a screenplay written by Derek Kolstad (John Wick, Nobody) and a story by Kolstad and Bob Odenkirk, Wheatley does a spectacular job at the helm of ‘Normal’ guiding along this explosive and ridiculously entertaining ride with a perfectly brisk pace. The film’s cast includes Bob Odenkirk (Nobody), Henry Winkler (TV’s Barry), Lena Headey (Gunpowder Milkshake), Jess McLeod (TV’s The Audacity), and more with most offering solid and fitting performances in each of their roles, while Odenkirk once again shows that he has exactly what it takes to be an action star.

‘Normal’ serves up a wildly enjoyable, blood-drenched and explosive ride that’s as funny and offbeat as it is thoroughly action-packed, and with a few noteworthy surprises and turns to keep viewers on their toes as it progresses. Easily one of the most enjoyable movies I’ve had the pleasure of so far this year, ‘Normal’ starts off pretty simple but goes all out much faster than you might expect as one big event shakes everything up and sends viewers on a nearly nonstop, violent thrill ride thereafter that nary slows down and rides its lightning pace through the remainder of its refreshingly brisk ninety minute runtime.

The film is nicely shot and makes great use of the Minnesota weather to add to the tension and excitement, and it’s nearly perfectly paced while never hesitating to get a big graphic with the bloodshed as the chaos builds either. Director Ben Wheatley does a spectacular job guiding along the explosive insanity and proves once again that he has a clear talent for action, never losing the pace and building excitement consistently, while also going a bit more extreme than you might expect on at least one or two occasions. Bob Odenkirk is also spectacular every step of the way, once again proving that he’s more than capable of holding his own as an action star.

Overall, ‘Normal’ is an absolute blast; a violent, funny and incredibly entertaining action flick that keeps the excitement and bloody chaos coming at full speed and never loses its way throughout, while also offering up at least a couple surprises and turns to keep things from ever getting even remotely stale or dull. ‘Normal’ earns one of my highest possible recommendations and if you’re a fan of director Ben Wheatley, lead star Bob Odenkirk or if you just enjoy a wild and immensely fun action flick that never slows down or fails to retain its violent and often darkly humorous tone then you’re not going to want to miss out on this explosive gem which hits all the right marks and never underwhelms. If you’re hesitant to drop the money on a blind purchase you can rest assured that it’s very much worth your time and the price of a rental to give a whirl and don’t be too surprised if you end up wanting to add it to your collection soon after.

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Normal’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition presentation with HDR-10, presented in its original 2.39:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks great as a whole and it offers a clean, nicely detailed presentation throughout that never suffers from any notable troubles or faults to be uncovered along the way, and does a capable job of capturing the hazy, snowy winter environment. Detail is solid on characters, action sequences and the snowy local streets, along with just about everything else, while the HDR offers a bit of improvement on the lifelike coloring of snow, blood and some other tidbits, along with sufficiently deep and rich black levels. Overall, this is a very nice Ultra High Definition presentation that holds up well from start to finish and shouldn’t have any trouble pleasing fans or newcomers.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 channel compatible) soundtrack. Please note that this review pertains solely to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio presentation. This multichannel soundtrack is a real treat and it delivers a clean, crisp and wildly aggressive audio presentation throughout. It consistently utilizes all seven available channels in order to send a whirlwind of aggressive activity whipping throughout the various speakers and including flurries of gunshots, debris, vehicle and weather activity, plus a whole lot more, while never resulting in any simultaneously occurring dialogue or other audio elements ever becoming distorted or negatively impacted. Overall, this is a spectacular Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that constantly enhances the fun and excitement of the viewing experience and definitely shouldn’t disappoint.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Normal’ features a collection of entertaining extras in the way of some Behind the Scenes Featurettes including ‘Making Normal’ (running approximately 14 minutes in length), ‘Ben Wheatley: Storytelling’ (running approximately 2 minutes), ‘Bob Odenkirk: Normal and Ulysses’ (approximately 2 minutes), ‘Derek Kolstad: The Characters’ (4 minutes), ‘Henry Winkler: Mayor Kibner’ (2 minutes) and ‘Marc Provissiero: The Team’ (2 minutes).

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray disc included in the 4K UHD Combo Pack and resized. They do not represent the quality of the 4K Ultra HD disc itself and will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on the 4K UHD & Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Film Rating: 9/10
Disc Rating: 7.5/10

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‘Normal’ is Now Available to Own on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD & Digital from Magnolia Home Entertainment

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You can purchase ‘Normal’ on 4K UHD at Amazon HERE!

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