Movie Review: Novocaine (2025)

Synopsis: An assistant bank manager, Nate, has a genetic condition that doesn't allow him to feel pain and earned him the nickname "Novocaine" when he was a child. As a result, he has lived a sheltered life and doesn't even eat solid food out of fear of biting off his tongue.. When one of his coworkers, Sherry, encourages him to take a few more chances and then sleeps with him, Nate is in love. However, before he can speak to her the next morning, the bank is robbed and she is taken as a hostage. With the responding police officers killed/wounded and unable to pursue, Nate steals a gun and police car and tries to track Sherry down on his own. What he doesn't know is Sherry's brother is one of the robbers and she was in on the crime.

Who's in it? The movie stars Jack Quaid, Amber Midthunder, Ray Nicholson, Jacob Batalon and Betty Gabriel.

Review: My youngest daughter saw Novocaine when it was out at theaters and liked the film. So, even though I had some doubts, my wife and I decided to watch it yesterday evening after coming across it on one of our movie channels. The film turned out to be a lot better than I was expecting.

The overall premise is an intriguing one because, far from being a superhero, Nate (Quaid) is actually surprisingly fragile. He may not have been able to feel pain, but he sure did get hurt a lot throughout, including getting knocked unconscious on more than one occasion.

This, in turn, made the movie all that much more interesting because it meant whenever he faced off with one of the well-armed bad guys, there was a very real chance he wouldn't survive. And since his fighting skills were also lacking, those battles were both suspenseful and comical. I personally thought the part about him conducting an investigation inside a boobytrapped house was one of the most memorable scenes in the film.

I thought the movie revealed Sherry's (Midthunder) secret a bit too early - it would have been a much better reveal toward the end of the film. However, it did add another interesting element to the movie that kept it from becoming predictable. Would she chose between Nate, a guy she liked but barely knew, or her brother, Simon (Nicholson), who was abusive but also the only family she had? Would Nate feel betrayed? Would it even matter since she was an accomplice in an armed robbery and murder and was likely going to prison?

The fact Nate was also facing criminal charges was a nice touch as well. At minimum, it added a bit of realism to the movie by showing his vigilantism, while arguably justifiable, was still illegal. It also made me wonder if the movie would have a true happy ending or if he would spend years behind bars.

One word of warning, this movie does tend to lean heavily on the blood and gore, especially when it comes to Nate's injuries. I wouldn't put it in the same category as horror film gore but if you have a weak stomach, you're not going to like some of the scenes. I'm mostly desensitized when it comes to movies but still cringed at times.

Final Opinion: It's a unique and entertaining action/comedy that was fun to watch. Again, you'll want to make sure your stomach can handle some of the gore but, if it can, it's worth giving the movie a chance.

My Grade: A

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Here are some reviews of other action/comedy movies:

Movie Review: Heads of State (2025)

Movie Review: Back in Action (2025)

Movie Review: Lavalantula (2015)

Movie Review: The Naked Gun (2025)