When action meets comedy, you have a winning combination. But when your hero is someone that you would least expect, that is almost movie perfection. Novocaine is hitting theaters this weekend, an action-thriller from Paramount Pictures following a mild mannered bank manager who’s trying to save the woman he loves. But unlike other revenge style action films, Novocaine brings with it a lot of heart, laughs, and a touch of gore when this anti-hero takes up his charge.
When Nate Caine (Jack Quaid) starts falling for a coworker at his bank, he takes the chance to open himself up and to start living his life. Having a rare genetic condition that prohibits him from feeling pain, Nate has lived in a bubble of his own making his whole life to protect himself and live longer. But when a bank robbery goes wrong and Sherry (Amber Midthunder), is kidnapped, Nate throws all caution to the wind to save the woman he loves. But what he doesn’t expect, is it may be more than his life on the line.
Quaid’s depiction of Nate is reminiscent of his character Hughie in Prime’s The Boys when he’s on Compound V – he almost has super hero like tendencies and abilities but no real consequences. But where Nate is different, despite his lack of pain sensations, every injury could be catastrophic or even deadly if he doesn’t get the medical attention that he needs. This is something that is hard to forget when you see the character’s head against walls, or he’s being tortured for information.
Leaning into his undeniable charm, Quaid makes Nate this lovable character who is easy to root for, and that you hope gets the girl in the end. But his overly sheltered life also brings in another dynamic to the character, an almost naiveté as he takes on a whole crime group just to save a woman he barely knows.
Novocaine is in theaters everywhere this weekend, and while it does have moments of gore – is the action movie that will break up the monotony of the box office right now.
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About Novocaine
When the girl of his dreams (Amber Midthunder) is kidnapped, everyman Nate (Jack Quaid) turns his inability to feel pain into an unexpected strength in his fight to get her back.