When the girl of his dreams (Amber Midthunder) is kidnapped, everyman Nate (Jack Quaid) turns his inability to feel pain into an unexpected strength in his fight to get her back. Transforming its high-concept premise into something thoroughly entertaining, Novocaine is an exhilarating action-movie that takes invulnerability to brutal comic extremes.
Surprisingly well-written and boasted by an excellent cast, Novocaine impresses with endearing character moments that allows the audience to empathise and relate to. Every time the movie feels as if it’s relegating itself to tiring genre tropes, it bounces back with clever writing, exciting fight choreography, and a charismatic performance by Quaid. With a delightful focus on nonstop action sequences, Novocaine packs enough adrenaline to appease those who derive pleasure from seeing its lead go through a series of hilariously painful injuries.
The juxtaposition of violent sequences and razor sharp comedy works to great effect. Leveraging on the wonderful blend, Novocaine operates wonderfully as a romantic comedy as well (Thanks in large part to Quaid and Midthunder’s electrifying chemistry). A playful mixture of genres, the action-comedy is outrageously charming in all the right ways. Conversely, certain supporting characters of the film come across as one-dimensional, which is in stark contrast to the charismatic leads.
Novocaine delights with intentionally absurd action and gore sequences, while allowing some of its more character driven moments to shine through humor and heart. With an incredibly stylistic approach, directors Dan Berk and Robert Olsen succeed in heightening a simple premise with genre sensibilities, presenting an action-comedy hybrid that renders the pain to absurd violence to sheer entertainment. Wildly entertaining and suprisingly endearing, Novocaine is the opposite of a painful watch.
