I Watch Films: Novocaine (2025)

 

Novocaine (2025)

Nathan Caine (Jack Quaid) is the assistant manager of a bank in San Diego; he also has CIPA, the inability to feel pain. He lives a cautious, introverted life, his best friend being an online gamer Roscoe (Jacob Batalon) who he’s never met. A new employee at the bank Sherry (Amber Midthunder) shows interest and the two go on a date though Caine is uncertain as he has little experience. They run into an old school “friend” of Caine who is surprised to see him (as a child his life expectancy was low, and even now people with CIPA often accidentally injure themselves and die) referring to him by his nickname “Novocaine.” Sherry tricks the bully into drinking hot sauce which Caine doesn’t feel and Caine and Sherry spend the night together.

The next day the bank is robbed, the leader Simon (Ray Nicholson) killing the manager when he won’t give the codes. Caine gives the codes when they threaten Sherry (he doesn’t respond to being hurt when they try to beat them out of him). They escape, shooting a policeman. Caine gives first aid, then steals the police car to follow, but follows the car without Sherry. Caine fights the robber in a kitchen, burning himself to win the fight, accidentally killing him, but seeing a distinctive tattoo.

The film then moves into the middle sequence; two world-weary police detectives try to figure out what’s going on, following the trail of mayhem Caine leaves in his wake. Caine gets Roscoe’s help to try and track down the tattoo artist and then the robbers, inevitably getting injured but able to overcome his opponents as he feels nothing. Roscoe turns out to have exaggerated several details about himself, his life and his motorbike. Sherry turns out to be in league with the robbers (the leader is her adoptive brother) but has turned against them as the violence spirals out of control and her feelings for Caine develop.

It's a high concept comedy crime action thriller. The central gimmick doesn’t quite outstay it’s welcome, swinging between horrible and funny, always having a way to escalate the gruesome injuries Caine both accepts and deals out. The film works okay without that, though nothing special as either crime or comedy. I don’t know what they thought they were doing with Midthunder, who has action chops that could have been used to offer an alternative to the Caine-and-opponent mutual destruction scenes.

Watch This: High energy, high concept thriller with clever stunts and some fun jokes
Don’t Watch This: Gruesome injuries and stupid plots