Jack Quaid might be the early frontrunner for king of solid times at the movies this year. Between Novocaine and Companion he has now lead or co-lead two of the most entertaining and original films of a thus far fairly weak movie year. In a world of reboots and sequels no one asked for, it's always fun to see something fresh that has a budget behind it, and Novocaine is a fun breath of air that I had a blast with.
The film follows Quaid as Nathan Caine, a bank assistant manager with a rare condition that renders him unable to feel pain. His condition comes with a low life expectancy, which has left him living a very careful and sheltered life, that is until his work crush Sherry (Amber Midhunter) is kidnapped during a bank robbery, leading him on a revenge chase as he tries to rescue her.
This definitely has parallels to Kick-Ass, a movie I love, in each protagonist not being able to feel pain. The two differ narratively though as Kick-Ass is very much a superhero movie while Novocaine is just a guy falling for a girl and fighting to rescue her. One thing it definitely brings though is the violence. This movie is ten times gorier than I expected and I had a blast with it. Whether it's Nathan taking hits, or the kidnappers, this one is full of some tough beatings.
Along with the fun and brutal action, a lot of why this works is Jack Quaid in the leading role. He's definitely leaning on the same kind of charm that made people love him in The Boys, but it works incredibly well. He's easy to connect with as the dorky guy falling for his cool coworker, and it's all thanks to that effortless charm he exudes. There are some lines that he delivers a bit too hammy, but on the whole I really liked him. Amber Midhunter also nails the other side of it, conveying the mysterious work crush while also being outgoing and easy to fall for. There aren't many other key players, but I have to shoutout Ray Nicholson as the primary antagonist. Thus far the only big roles I've seen from him are this and Smile 2, but he has so much of his dad's natural creepiness and it works so well here.
This isn't necessarily anything special, it follows some familiar formulas and aside from the gore it doesn't do much to stand out. That being said, it works really well as a mid-budget action comedy that is sure to deliver a good time at the movies. 3.5/5
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