Novocaine (United States, 2025)

There are times when Novocaine is a blast – mostly when it’s relying on the easygoing charisma of actor Jack Quaid, leaning into chemistry between Quaid and Amber Midthunder, or having fun with some of the more unconventional aspects of the lead character’s “superpower.” But there are other instances when it falls into the trap of believing the action scenes are more exciting (or suspenseful) than they actually are. And it would have been helpful to boast a dynamic villain or two. The three in this movie are strictly bottom-of-the-barrel refugees from some B-grade Steven Seagal schlock. As origin stories go, Novocaine has potential but if this proves to be a stand-alone rather than the start of a franchise, it will go down as being a little undercooked.

The film’s main character, Nathan Caine (Quaid), is a milquetoast assistant bank manager with no social life outside work. His “best friend,” Roscoe (Jacob Batalon), is a fellow gamer he has never met in person. He has a crush on a co-worker named Sherry (Amber Midthunder), but making eye contact with her, let alone asking her out, causes heart palpitations. Nathan has a reason for his solitary, buttoned-down lifestyle. He is afflicted with congenital analgesia, a rare genetic condition that deadens his nerves so he cannot feel pain.

This is an actual disorder that, at least in the real world, can be fatal. Lars Jacobson’s screenplay grounds some of the early scenes by illustrating lifestyle changes necessitated by the condition. For example, Nathan must subsist on a liquid diet because chewing food could cause him to bite off his tongue. Also, he must set his watch alarm as a reminder to pee every three hours (to prevent his bladder from exploding). Novocaine doesn’t go too deep into the weeds. This is, after all, a high concept action/comedy, not a serious drama.

Eventually, Nathan works up the courage to talk to Sherry. One thing leads to another and after a date that ends with them spending the night together, he’s feeling pretty good about things…until a gang of thugs arrive at the bank. After killing the manager and brutalizing Nathan, they grab a bunch of cash from the safe and take Sherry along as a hostage. Convinced that he’s her only hope, Nathan steals a police car and sets out in pursuit, using his “superpower” to accomplish things where the pain would stop others.

The first half-hour of Novocaine is engaging, often feeling more like a quirky rom-com than the prelude to a quasi-superhero story. Once it gets into action mode, the beats can be stale and overfamiliar, even with the tongue-in-cheek mentality adding a dash of twisted wit to the proceedings. The narrative is straightforward: Nathan must play detective to identify the three bank robbers and track them down, one-by-one, in his quest to find and save Sherry. He uses his disability as an asset but, as Roscoe warns him, he might be immune to feeling pain but he can still die.

There’s a Die Hard vibe to how this plays out: the everyday man who undergoes extreme physical punishment to save the woman he loves. Now, Nathan isn’t a wise-ass like John McClane and he doesn’t have as many good one-liners, but neither character starts out their story projecting to be a hero. Yet imagine Die Hard without Hans Gruber… And therein lies one of Novocaine’s biggest problems: the three bad guys might as well be Manny, Moe, and Jack for all the personality and individuality they exhibit. Played by Ray Nicholson, Conrad Kemp, and Evan Hengst, they are one-dimensional types whose sole functions are to sneer, torture, and die (pretty much in that order). Even considering Nathan’s limitations (he is most definitely not a fighter), they lack the intimidation factor necessary to energize the confrontations.

The fight scenes are competently filmed but they feel more like narrative necessities than opportunities for suspense and tension. Good action films, regardless of whether they have comedic undertones or not, work because of an element of unpredictability that is lacking here. And the last act drags on for too long, making use of one of the genre’s most tired tropes to pad out the running length. I wouldn’t be averse to seeing another film featuring Nathan. Oftentimes, origin stories lack inspiration because there’s of all the setup involved. As it is, this is a painless experience but lacks the qualities to make it a true pleasure.

Novocaine (United States, 2025)