Bob Odenkirk returns to the big screen as a sheriff who kicks a lot of ass while trying to find his way back home in Normal.

Bob Odenkirk has been around for a long time. He was a writer for Saturday Night Live, an actor on The Larry Sander’s Show, and a named star in Mr. Show With Bob and David. Most famously he hit the big time playing Saul Goodman in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.

Odenkirk has mostly stuck to television, so it’s been interesting to witness his recent evolution as an action hero on the big screen in Mr. Nobody and Nobody 2. The Nobody films were very entertaining, if not violent, jaunts showcasing the good guy as he overcame implausible odds and explosive scenarios to expose corruption and save his family. These were solid, fun films with good storytelling elements in place.

Now Odenkirk is back in the cinematic universe starring in Normal, a dark comedy/action film directed by Ben Wheatley, playing another tough, weary guy who’s trying to wind his way back to, well, a normal life.

Odenkirk plays Ulyssess, a man who’s been through a private hell and is wandering from town to town as interim sheriff until he can reconcile with Penny, his wife (a nod to Homer’s The Iliad, the epic poem about war-weary Ulysses who travails for ten years to return home to his wife, Penelope). When the town of Normal, MN comes a-calling for Ulysses’s services, the movie starts off fresh and intriguing; the landscape of Normal, Minnesota echoes the frozen tundra and chilling vibe reminiscent of 1996’s Fargo. But that’s where the similarities between the two movies end.

There are lots of fun, meet the cutesy citizens of the quaint town moments, and Odenkirk excels as the sensitive sheriff dealing with personal demons while connecting with the townsfolk. But when Ulysses discovers a secret and the entire population of Normal turns weirdly dark, the movie loses storytelling steam and morphs into a smash-bang-crash-them-up flick. Sure, political statements are made about the economy and what’s happening to small town America, but somehow the story loses it’s luster when Mayor Henry Winkler engages in an information dump that seems like audience hand-holding to get all of the plot points out of the way so we can spend the rest of the movie gawking at gory bloodletting and cool explosions.

Odenkirk co-wrote the screenplay with Derek Kolstadt and industry word is that this character was created as a vehicle for more action-packed Ulysses sequels (cha-ching). The ending of Normal sure leaves the door wide open for that possibility. While Normal was somewhat entertaining, and Odenkirk delivers in his signature delightful manner, overall this is a movie that is best left for viewing on your couch via streaming service, than forking out the bucks to see it in the theater.