Review: Novocaine (2025)

Jack Quaid is having a moment. The Boys, the ensemble superheroes-gone-wrong streaming series he stars on, is firing on all cylinders. Just six weeks ago, the movie Companion, in which he shares co-lead status, opened to great reviews and decent ticket sales. Now his latest film, Novocaine, is the number one movie in the country, securing his box office appeal and putting him on the it-list. 

The premise of Novocaine is unique in the action movie pantheon: our lead character, Nathan Caine, suffers from a genetic disorder in which he cannot feel pain. This impacts him in a variety of ways, as he is constantly injuring himself without knowing it. In a scene early in the film during a first date with bank co-worker Sherry (Prey's Amber Midthunder), he hesitantly tries cherry pie for the very first time and we learn that he's heretofore been living on a liquid diet for fear of chewing off his own tongue. His life has been gray, but with the arrival of Sherry, everything has burst into technicolor. So when his new love interest is taken as a hostage in a bank robbery, Nathan pursues the criminals behind the theft with the singular motivation of saving Sherry. Because he cannot feel pain, nothing can stop him except death. 

What follows is an adrenaline-fueled, comedic romp through action movie cliches. This is a film that knows what it is and has fun with our expectations. It counts on us knowing how these movies work so that it can dangle action elements in front of us like a piñata and then smash them with a baseball bat before our eyes. We get to see "Novocaine," as he's nicknamed, take on the criminal underworld, question goons for information, and beat the ever-loving snot out of the bad guys, all while being shot, stabbed, thrown into broken glass, and even tortured. 

It's a lot of fun until it isn't anymore. At nearly two hours long, the movie outlasts its premise by about 20 minutes, and I found myself waiting for things to wrap up. The final confrontation--no spoilers--goes on and on. It's an ice cream sundae that's covered in hot fudge, butterscotch, whipped cream, then--just for good measure--some marshmallow fluff, too. For me, it's a bit too much and I was done with the movie before the movie was done for me. 

Jack Quaid is great in the lead role, and he's proven that he can anchor a film like this. He's likable, but he also excels in the action sequences with a believable physicality. Amber Midthunder has also proved her ability to carry a movie with Fox's Prey, arguably the best sequel in the Predator franchise. Both of them are likable and they have good chemistry together. Unfortunately, there are elements of the movie that I don't think work at all. Jacob Batalon, most widely recognized as Peter Parker's best friend in the MCU Spider-Man movies, seems like he's either been shoe-horned into the story or miscast--maybe both. Matt Walsh, a founding member of the Upright Citizen's Brigade comedy troupe and a very funny man, falls flat as a cliche cop who keeps saying things that are supposed to be humorous, but are groan-inducing, instead. His role is superfluous, and slows things down. 

At times, this movie feels like it was conceived as two different projects, sandwiched together. Maybe that's because the film has two directors: Dan Berk and Robert Olsen, a filmmaking duo who cut their teeth on low-budget horror comedies. This is by far their most mainstream and highest-budgeted film to date, and the growing pains are obvious. Novocaine is never quite sure if it wants to be an action movie, a comedy, a buddy movie, or a romance. All of these elements could sit comfortably next to each other, but they don't. Violence is played for laughs in one scene, while the next scene tries to evoke sincere pathos. The parts don't quite gel as a whole. 

Nevertheless, Novocaine is a mostly-fun, very violent juggernaut on the senses, owing a huge debt to movies like Crank and Shoot 'Em Up in terms of both style and frenzied approach. The enthusiasm from the audience likely comes from the sheer relentlessness of the film, but further inspection reveals a disjointed mishmash of too many ideas and not enough runway to set them into flight, resulting in some tedium. Still, it's worth seeing for the outrageous set pieces and the likable performances from its two leads.