Sometimes, all you need is a big, bright smile from a charming person to carry a concept through to its best result. Jack Quaid (“The Boys,” “My Adventures with Superman”) is one of those people who has the charm and the smile in spades, to the point where it almost becomes unfair. After years of leading ensembles or playing second fiddle, this eager fresh face finally has a film where he is unequivocally the lead, and he makes the absolute most of it. He also gets beat to hell and back, but if you’ve seen previous works involving him, this is more of a regularity than you’d expect.
“Novocaine” stars Quaid as Nathan Caine, a mild-mannered middle manager at a bank with the inability to feel pain. He isn’t invincible or bestowed with superpowers, he just has a genetic disorder that means that he cannot feel pain, though he can still bleed and get plenty hurt. After an impromptu date night with bank teller Sherry, played by Amber Midthunder (“Prey,” “Legion”), his bank is robbed, and she is taken as a hostage. Worried that the police will not arrive in time to help, Nathan takes matters into his own hands and, with the help of his online gaming friend Roscoe, played by Jacob Batalon (“Spider-Man: Homecoming,” “Reginald the Vampire”), he sets out after the bank robbers who’re led by the almost charmingly evil Ray Nicholson (“Smile 2,” “Panic”). Meanwhile, Mincy and Coltraine, two detectives played by Betty Gabriel (“The Spine of Night,” “Get Out”) and Matt Walsh (“Veep,” “The Do-Over") respectively, follow Nathan’s trail, trying to piece together whether or not he was in on the robbery.
This is the sort of film that entirely comes down to Quaid and his willingness to throw himself into a role where the basic premise requires him to get beat to hell and back. He is the absolute best part of the film, giving a performance so charming and winning that it could be argued that it is his true uncanny ability in the film. Somehow, he keeps the film’s energy high no matter the moment, and he keeps the film believable and grounded. Despite the hits Nathan takes, you never stop believing that he is willing to keep getting knocked down and popping right back up.
Meanwhile, Midthunder makes for a compelling love interest Quaid, even if she doesn’t quite rise to his levels of weaponized charm. Batalon is a fun bit of confident comedic relief opposite Quaid more awkward everyman stylings, and Nicholson is truly a harrowing villain without teetering into being completely despicable. Gabriel and Walsh are both fine, and their b-plot does have an element of emotional truth and freshness to it by the end, but for the most part it’s a bog-standard police plot you see in a typical film of this ilk.
The action is quick and high energy, without feeling like yet another “John Wick” style hyper-kinetic action fare. While not as precise as the action seen in those films, there’s a charming scrappy nature to the action here. Like Quaid’s own abilities, the fights feed back into the idea that Nathan is just an average dude put into a decidedly less average situation. Directing duo Dan Berk and Robert Olsen (“Villains,” “Significant Other”) makes sure that the tale is small scale from start to finish. It helps that writer Lars Jacobson (“Day of the Dead: Bloodline”) has crafted a story that never gets overblown; Nathan isn’t a secret former military/hitman badass, nor is there a criminal underworld involved. In a world where it seems like each action film feels the need to craft those kinds of plots, it's completely refreshing to see something that looks small scale that actually is. It allows the film to stretch its legs and become the sort of film that, while not breaking out of its genre, becomes a fantastic example of what this kind of film can be when its firing on all cylinders.
“Novocaine” is a silly title for a film that revels in being a fantastic example of this kind of action film. It keeps the stakes small, fitting perfectly alongside a game cast led by Jack Quaid’s truly winning lead performance. The action is tense and grounded, but the film never loses a bit of its gory dark humor. Quaid’s everyman charms make it all flourish, even building a legitimately engaging romance by the end. It's hard to imagine anyone indulging in some “Novocaine” without a big grin on their face. 4.5/5
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