Novocaine

I had the general idea going into the film: the guy who can't feel pain risks life and limb to rescue the girl of his dreams. However, I was most curious about how our main character's lack of pain receptors would affect our emotional reception of the story. If it can't hurt him, how can it hurt us? As it turns out, though, Novocaine (2025) can snap feels just as much as it snaps ankles.

Nathan Caine (Jack Quaid) is an assistant bank manager with a genetic condition: he can't feel physical pain. His life is careful and meticulous and same old, same old when into the beige bank walks the girl of his dreams, Sherry (Amber Midthunder). Interrupting their love story is a trio of robbers storming the bank and taking Sherry as a hostage. Much to the thieves' (and Caine's) surprise, Nathan chases after them, using his condition as an advantage, to rescue Sherry.

Honestly, Novocaine is just pure fun. Jack Quaid is perfectly cast, selling, as the directors note, the everyman-ness of a bank manager to the physicality of an action star. He and costar Amber Midthunder work well together on screen, but Midthunder's also great on her own, especially since she's given more to do than just be kidnapped (which sounds stupid to say, but thematically, you know what I mean). Plus, Jacob Batalon (from the latest "Spiderman" sequels) is a welcome addition when finally he pops in to say "hello."

And the stunts are so gross and manic and fun to watch. In the wrong hands, it would be easy for the "guy who feels no pain" action movie concept to go wildly off the rails. But directors Dan Berk and Robert Olsen wanted to make sure that, even if Caine does get into chaotic situations, the story stays "grounded." "He's not a superhero, and we were going to take liberties with how far the human body can be pushed," Berk said. "Every action movie does, but we wanted to stay within a semi-believable realm within the rule system of our movie."

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One thing that interested me, particularly after finding Captain America: Brave New World's fight choreography lacking, was how the filmmakers used Nathan's condition to inform the action scenes.

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One thing that interested me, particularly after finding Captain America: Brave New World's fight choreography lacking, was how the filmmakers used Nathan's condition to inform the action scenes. "Jack had to rewire his brain so that he could get punched and not flinch," co-director Olsen said. "Your whole life as an actor, you're told to sell the hit, and when you get punched, you flinch, you wince, you sell the pain." It was a such a unique viewing experience and worked surprisingly well. It could've just as easily been an informed directing choice that didn't play on camera because our ability to gauge the physics of a hit is an actor's reaction to it.

Combine that with twists and turns and Novocaine's increasing tempo as Nathan learns, after years and years of carefully stepping through life, how to really run after the things he wants, no matter the consequences. Based on the trailer, I assumed the romance plot would feel too quick. It literally is: Nathan and Sherry go on a date, she's kidnapped, he decides to risk death for her. To be fair, I couldn't hate that on reflex. But I'm willing to admit that without the proper context and framing, it's often a fool's errand storywise, and I would be forced to refer to it as a "flick" and not a "movie."

But Novocaine's romance works within its story, within the rules the film has set up for itself. I never found myself thinking that Nathan was crazy for going after Sherry, even if maybe he was a little bit. Frankly, that just made the character and the story more likable. I was just gleefully along for the ride.

So yes, I absolutely found my $6 ticket to be worth it. Plus, hearing the rest of my theatergoers audibly grimace at the gory injuries as well as laugh out loud was the "cherry" on top (imma put a big sign around that joke because it's a crucial part of the movie and I'm very proud of myself for working that in).

Note to moviegoers: Novocaine takes place at Christmas. It's not a big part of the story and I kept forgetting until a character mentioned it. Every once in a while, I'd notice a tree in the background. In the heat of the movie, I considered this a flaw, but now I think perhaps it's just a geographical difference since Novocaine takes place in San Diego and I do not and have little reference for winter except snow and air that hurts my face (although not, I imagine, Nathan Caine's).