As the saying goes, every action movie needs a hook. And boy does Novocaine have one. An action-comedy from Dan Berk and Robert Olsen featuring a man genetically incapable of feeling pain. Played with his boy-next door charm by Jack Quaid (Nathan Caine) is a different kind of action hero. He may not be the best at throwing punches, but he sure can take them.
The trailer showcases Nathan Caine, an anxious junior manager of a San Diego bank who seems to live a fairly dull and dreary life. Our first meeting with Caine shows him going about his morning routine in a rather somber way with R.E.M.’s “Everybody Hurts” playing in the background. The soundtrack effectively sets the tone for Caine’s current emotional state. You see, he has a neurological disorder that prevents him from feeling any kind of pain, or things like hot and cold. While this may seem like a pretty cool gift to have, it has ironically offset by a debilitating fear of anything at all that carries with it any degree of risk.
That includes talking to his longtime work crush, Sherry (Amber Midthunder), a teller who is everything Caine is not. Sherry is seen as a natural socialite, energetically buoyant and unafraid of confrontation. As is often the case in movies, everything shifts when love comes into play. A spilled coffee pot sparks a lunch date, which unexpectedly turns into the best night of Caine’s life. Sherry and Caine have great chemistry with the early buddings of a romance. With Love in the air, he is suddenly unafraid, seeing the world in a new light and testing the limits of his condition. But just as things are looking up, Sherry is taken hostage by a trio of ruthless bank robbers. Caine has spent his life being overly cautious, but all it takes is one evening with Sherry for him to put everything he knows aside and without hesitation chases after the goons that have taken Sherry, putting his life on the line.
Due to his inability to feel any pain, Caine has a major advantage. A gun falls into a vat of boiling oil? No problem, he can grab it while the bad guy he’s fighting will back off. Leg suddenly impaled by an arrow? Whatever, he’ll just shuffle awkwardly around until he can get it out. It makes for a unique action-movie hook, and Novocaine plays it up to its highest potential. This is true when it comes to both humour and stakes. With the latter, the movie doesn’t forget that no pain doesn’t mean Caine is invincible.
Joining Jack Quaid and Amber Midthunder are Ray Nicholson, Betty Gabriel, Matt Walsh, Lou Beatty Jr., Evan Hengst, Conrad Kemp and Jacob Batalon. Scriptwriter Lars Jacobson finds ingenious ways to exploit Caine’s condition for laughs while filmmakers Berk and Olsen mine the concept for all its visual worth. The numerous fight scenes, which often lapse into extreme gore, are as amusing as they are exciting, making Novocaine a movie not to be missed.
About Novocaine
Synopsis: When the girl of his dreams gets kidnapped, a man turns his inability to feel pain into an unexpected advantage as he fights a bunch of thugs to get her back.
Genre: Action• Comedic Thriller
Director: Dan Berk• Robert Olsen
Writer: Lars Jacobson
Stars: Jack Quaid • Amber Midthunder
Rating: Rated R for strong bloody violence, grisly images, and language throughout.
Run Time: 1 Hour 50 Minutes
Release Date: 14th March 2025
