Nathan Caine can’t feel PAIN! A review of the 2025 Paramount Pictures release starring Jack Quaid and Amber Midthunder…
Review by Joshua Baker
mild, mild spoilers ahead, although its not anything that isnt in the trailers…
Handsome nerd and Red Letter Media alumni Jack Quaid ends up in a fight for his life after armed bank robbers kidnap the love of his life (Amber Midthunder) and he’s the only man who can stop them…mostly because of inability to feel pain. Literally. He genetically can’t feel any pain.
Yes, the plot might sound familiar, but the central twist, based off of a real life medical condition, is a fine concept for an action thriller and one you could get a lot of mileage out of. The central problem for Novocaine is that, whilst a fun film overall, doesn’t go far enough with this conceit.
Starring Jack Quaid as bank manager Nathan Caine, the film plays well to Quaid’s comedic strengths. Although he is what Red Letter Media would call a “legacy artist” (he is the son of Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan) he has proven himself to be a solid actor in his own right, with great comedic timing and genuine dramatic chops.
Having proven himself already in a supporting role on The Boys, and also earlier this year in the EXCELLENT Companion (2025) (please go see it/rent it/buy it) Hollywood has graduated him to movie star status, and so far has given him good roles to show his skills off in.
I do find it funny though how Hollywood keeps casting him as the sad beta nerd when he is an incredibly good-looking guy; I mean, no shit, he literally looks like mum’s face (an incredibly good looking woman) pasted onto his dad’s body (an incredibly good looking man.)
I know he has a goofy and chaotic energy to his performance that sells the “nerd” angle, but still. For my British readers, I couldn’t help but notice how much Quaid looks like disgraced British TV presenter Phillip Schofield from certain angles. I dunno, maybe it’s just me, but I see it.
Actor Jack Quaid Disgraced TV Presenter Phillip Schofield
There were multiple points during the film where I was expecting them to play around and have fun with the idea: at the end of the meet-cute between the central players (Quaid and Midthunder) there is the inevitable sex scene back at his place- and I was expecting there to be quite a lot of coitus-related injuries inflicted upon Quaid’s character: his lip being bitten, neck being bitten, pulling a couple of muscles (ironically, a bit like a room-destroying sex scene between two superheroes in The Boys) but unfortunately, the film plays it all completely straight and a bit bland.
It’s only in the second half where the film finally starts to have fun with its central conceit. Caine for example finds himself in a booby-trapped house where he repeatedly gets impaled by various objects and barely bats an eyelid- and a scene in the trailer where he is tortured by a captor and has to pretend to feel pain. This is all good and well-excecuted stuff, but to me it’s too little, too late, and again is done in a slightly edgeless manner.
I understand that the filmmakers wanted to be sensitive to the real life condition, and the movie does a good job of visually showing and making you symphasie with the adjustments Nathan has to make to his life, but it doesn’t do enough to separate Nathan from the average movie action hero. Maybe they could’ve explored Nathan’s relationship to violence, as he can take it without having to deal with most of it’s consequences? Maybe he even has a bit of a sick, twisted relationship with blood and injury? I don’t know, I just wanted more of an edge.
Is it unfair to judge the film for something that it isn’t? Maybe, but it’s my subjective opinion, so I don’t care.
On the positive side, there are a few nice twists and turns in the script, some well executed setups and payoffs, and, with some heavy assisting from Jack Quaid’s slapstick comedy chops- the movie is genuinely funny.
Its definitely a movie that is comedy first, action second, which is fine, but if you’re going in expecting the unrelenting gory violence of films like Nobody or John Wick (movies Novocaine is clearly taking a leaf from) then you may come out of the film slightly disappointed.
The film has a sentimental side that somewhat dilutes the madcap wackiness that it coudlve had. It really leans into the central romance between Amber Midthunder and Quaid, and, although its well handled in the movie, can feel a little sappy at times. Caine REALLY loves this girl, who he’s been on like two dates with and has known for a couple months. I mean, talk about whipped, guys, amirite? Amirite?
…
…no? Okay, fine, I’ll move on.
And they called it Puppy Love…
Ray Nicholson is a solid villain, and appropriately diabolical in the moments where he gets to shine, but by the end of the film, he is so beaten and bloodied to the point where it gets slightly comical that he is still standing upright- he’s not the one who can’t feel pain!
In the end, although you walk away from Novocaine having had a good time, you get the feeling it could’ve been more- a really good film instead of a pretty good one.
Although the film executes its narrative in a competent way and is MASSIVELY helped by the charismatic and energetic presence of Jack Quaid. If the movie had starred [insert generic actor’s name here] it would’ve been in a lot more trouble.
Novocaine is a painless trip to the cinema, with a lot of enjoyment to be had, but for me, doesn’t go quite far enough with it’s central premise.
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