Jack Quaid is Nate Caine, a man born with a rare genetic disorder that makes him unable to feel pain. Comes in handy during a fight, but it makes dinner awkward when you have to remember not to bite your tongue off. Every superpower has a weakness, I guess.
Nate is the assistant manager at a San Diego bank. He falls head-over-heels in love with Sherry (Amber Midthunder), the perky new girl who looks past his social awkwardness and discovers in him a kindred spirit. Then armed gunmen kick in the door and take Sherry hostage. They gun down a few cops and make their getaway, damsel in tow, and Nate gives chase in an abandoned squad car, kicking off the plot.
As premises go, it’s a fun one. Nate is lousy in a fight and worse with a gun, but has that ace up his sleeve. His enemies can kill him, but they can’t hurt him. This leads to a couple good laughs when his opponents realize what they are up against. Like when Nate sticks his hand in a boiling deep fryer to retrieve a pistol without hesitating. It makes for some great spectacle.
But, unfortunately, there’s not much else worth your time here.
Novocaine is a great idea for a movie, and therein lies the problem. It feels more like an idea than the exploration of one.
We care about Nate, because he is played by Jack Quaid with his trademark charm and wide-eyed earnestness. But we never really worry about him, because the script is simple and takes no real risks. Regardless of whether he can feel pain, shouldn’t the accumulation of injuries start to slow Nate down? It never seems to be an issue. There’s one scene where he patches a bullet wound with some super glue. Then he just moves on.
There are other things that undermine the drama. You would think a few police officers being shot dead in the line of duty would elicit a big response from law enforcement, but nope. Everyone is on vacation. I guess the movie takes place during Christmas? They make a few comments about it being the holidays and never mention it again. Die Hard, this ain’t.
There are only two cops on Nate’s trail. Budget cuts, I guess. At first, they think he was the inside man who aided the robbers. This sounds like it is going to twist the story in a fun direction, but no. The situation gets cleared up one scene later with a phone call. Nothing to see here.
The movie can’t seem to decide whether it wants to go all-in on the comedy or the action. I think this could have been a great film if it leaned harder to the left or the right. I’d love to see what someone like John Wick director Chad Stahelski would do with this material. Instead, the directors of Novocaine opt to be a jack (see what I did there) of all trades and master of none.
It’s okay to be a movie with a gimmick, but you have to transcend it if you want people to care. Novocaine doesn’t even try.
Joe Johnson Writer 