Directors: Dan Berk & Robert Olsen
Actors: Jack Quaid, Amber Midthunder, Ray Nicholson, Betty Gabriel
Genre: Action / Comedy
Rating: MA
‘Novocaine’ is a fun take on the “one-man-fighting-lots-of-baddies” genre, with Nate (Quaid) having a “genetic disorder” which means he can’t feel pain (but he can still bleed a lot!). The film has a nice first act, establishing Nate Cain (hence the nickname) and his unique existence as an assistant bank manager, his gaming friend Roscoe (Batalon) and romantic interest Sherry (Midthunder).
It all kicks off when Nate’s bank is robbed by Simon
(Nicholson) – a very dislikable villain, well done – and Sherry kidnapped, so Nate
takes it upon himself to rescue her. Detectives Mincy (Gabriel) and Coltraine
(Walsh) have nice cameos, but otherwise we pretty much follow Nate as he chases
and gets beat up by 3 bad guys – and finds inventive ways to not die! The injuries
start off plausible, and get progressively worse and worse.
It’s pretty fast-paced at 110min and the added love story is
nice – we need more Midthunder ‘Predator’ films – and Quaid seems to be having lots
of fun, although I’m sure most is stunt doubles, and his character isn’t too different
from Hughie in ‘The Boys’. Good score and soundtrack – if you like ‘John Wick’ and
‘Nobody’, you’ll like this, but it has much more humour. I laughed quite a few times,
but there’s still some pretty graphic/bloody moments too! Predictable ending,
but solidly done.
Overall: Fun, bloody take on the action hero
Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars
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