Following in the recent action craze launched by John Wick, fusing it with The World is Not Enough Bond villain’s inability to feel pain, adding in some of the sadism found in Home Alone and its sequel, and throwing in some rough and tumble comedy to boot, Novocaine (2025), co-directed by Dan Berk and Robert Olsen, holds no punches, or perhaps packs quite the punch if you’d prefer.
Not for the weak of heart. . . an early warning to the wise – if you don’t like R rated violence then this movie is likely not for you, as it does not hold back in any which way. Though it does contain action, comedy, and romance, don’t let those last two genres suggest that this is a light date night foray for couples.
Nate (Jack Quaid – tv show The Boys) is what you might call dull as dishwater. An introverted assistant manager at a credit union in San Diego, he wakes up, drives very safely to work, almost mindlessly makes his way through the day, then when he gets home plays online video games with his buddy Roscoe (Jacob Batalon – Spider-Man: No Way Home) – who he’s never truly met before, and that’s about it.
Though he has a crush on employee Sherry (Amber Midthunder – Prey), he’s the type of guy who would never build up the nerve to do anything about it. . . that is, unless she makes the first move and then gets kidnapped after a robbery at the credit union.
You guessed it, that’s exactly what happens. . . which leads our mild mannered protagonist on a wild goose chase through the California city to rescue the first love of his life. Fortunately, that aforementioned tidbit in the opening paragraph that someone in the movie feels no pain just so happens to be Nate – as he has CIPA. . . or congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis. This is where the title of the film comes from – as this was the nickname given to him by the bullies at school.
In a sense his own superpower, he’s a bit like The Terminator, continuously picking himself up and returning to the chase. Utilizing this premise to the absolute max, each action scene might produce a grunt, a groan, or a guffaw from viewers, depending on what the film makers are angling for. It’s a fine line (that works more frequently than it doesn’t), much like Deadpool – who also puts himself through the ringer for love and revenge. Like that comparison, both films throw as much at the screen as possible in their runtimes, a blitzkrieg style of cinema that can both envelop and sometimes overwhelm.
And, speaking of the comedy, it finds enough dark humour to play against type quite nicely. The straightlaced Nate (who does have video game tattoos) trying to compliment a tattoo artist on his swastika ink while attempting to get much needed information is tensely awkward, while him faking pain while being tortured by one of the villains is equally as absurd, giving this one a unique flavour compared to most action comedies.
A gonzo, go for broke premise, Novocaine might have some supporters and detractors, but there is no denying that this is a good sign for cinema. . . as seeing these smaller budget (in this case, eighteen million) original concepts being made again means more variety coming to theatres once more. So, get your adrenaline going with this action packed flick, it’s a rare example of no pain no gain not pertaining.