Directors: Dan Berk, Robert Olsen
Writer: Lars Jacobson
Cast: Jack Quaid, Amber Midthunder, Ray Nicholson, Jacob Batalon, Betty Gabriel, Matt Walsh

What would you do if you could feel no physical pain? Would you close yourself off from the rest of the world, fearful of what could happen? Put yourself in the face of danger, whether for good or ill? Would you go about your days in as normal a fashion as possible? Novocaine seeks to answer these questions, but in a much, much more fantastical way (if you can believe it). The ability to feel no physical pain, while a real condition, is rare, but then to find yourself on a daring mission that could result in your death is truly something only for the movies. Does Novocaine provide an entertaining action story based on something interestingly real, or does it find itself in the more painful waters of stupidity?

Nathan Caine (Quaid), an introverted assistant bank manager, develops a crush on new employee Sherry (Midthunder). During their date, he reveals to her that he has CIP, a condition that means he can’t feel pain. The day after their (very intimate) date, the bank is robbed, and Sherry is taken as a hostage. Nathan takes it upon himself to rescue her, fearing he may never again meet a girl as understanding as she. He suffers all kinds of injuries and mishaps, and as he digs, he finds out more than he’d bargained for.

There’s no doubt that the idea of having all manner of torturous things thrust upon you without feeling any of it is an intriguing one, and this film does make the most of Nathan’s unique ability, putting him through a heck of a lot purely for our entertainment (and likely out of curiosity from the writer and directors). But where it entertains in pain, it lacks in story and plot. Granted, it has a pretty solid twist, but that’s about all the plot has going for it. Similarly, the comedy falls flat, as Nathan’s adventure takes him to weird places where he encounters people that either make no real sense or feel shoved in for the sake of putting him in situations that will cause him more injury. The characters are one-dimensional and aren’t particularly interesting, all except Sherry, who has more to her than all the other characters combined. The whole thing comes across as more try hard than die hard.

As mentioned, the things Nathan is put through cannot be denied as being imaginative and merciless, meaning that many of the stunts, visual effects and make-up are fairly decent. In particular, the prosthetics used as Nathan sustains more and more intense wounds are gory and gruesome, leaving little to the imagination. Is it all unbelievable? Yes, completely beyond the realms of logic, but there’s also something kind of sadistically fun about continually seeing the worst happen to him. Perhaps there’s a hint of envy there too, wishing we could deal with pain in a similar way.

In spite of the cringe comedy, Quaid commits admirably to Nathan and gives it his all, whether through verbal or physical comedy or generally just taking everything that’s thrown at him. It can’t have been easy to endure, so credit where credit’s due. Midthunder provides some depth to Sherry that’s sorely lacking in other characters and elsewhere in the film, making her more of a main character than Nathan. Nicholson’s bad guy act isn’t particularly threatening in dialogue or action past the first act of the film, leaving the ‘bad guy’ aspect as something to be desired for the rest of the movie. Gabriel’s and Walsh’s cop duo are a strange pairing, but it works at times to diffuse the awkwardness when some of the comedy isn’t really working and adds a slightly more serious side to proceedings. Batalon’s character is, well, random and unnecessary, frankly.

It could be argued that this is not a film to be taken seriously (duh), but it really could have been more than the sum of its parts had it had some extra thought put into its story and characters, perhaps becoming more Deadpool-like in execution. It has its few-and-far-between moments, but overall, sitting through this film was, at times, like receiving a shot of novocaine to the brain.