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Mar 15, 2025 By Daniel Rester Web Exclusive

“All you need to make a movie is a girl and a gun.”

So said French director Jean-Luc Godard, and he wasn’t far off as myriad movies have relied on those two elements. The latest is Novocaine, with the basic plot of an everyday banker trying to save his love interest from baddies with the help of a cop’s gun. The difference this time is that the hero has congenital insensitivity to being hurt, which basically means he cannot feel physical pain.

The likable Jack Quaid plays Nathan Caine, an introvert and assistant bank manager. He is nervous about everything in his life due to his condition, which causes him to put up safety measures in order to not hurt himself. For instance, he puts tennis balls on sharp edges because he would not feel it if he hit the edges and started bleeding.

Caine becomes attracted to one of the tellers at his work, Sherry (Amber Midthunder), who is taken hostage by bank robbers on Christmas Eve. This leads Caine to try to rescue her, hopping around San Diego and putting his condition to the test as the robbers attack him in a variety of ways.

While the plot of Novocaine is framed by a familiar structure, the high concept in the premise allows for some creative chaos. Caine dips his hand in a deep fryer, takes an arrow to the knee, gets thrown into glass, and much more. The scenes of action are bloody, exciting, and well-staged throughout. Some of them run out of steam as the film enters its third act, however.

Quaid and Midthunder have solid chemistry together. Jacob Batalon and Ray Nicholson add some energy to the film as well, with the former as Caine’s only friend and the latter as a psychotic bad guy. Betty Gabriel and Matt Walsh play two officers who track Caine, and while the actors are fine, the film loses spark every time it focuses on them instead of Caine.

Novocaine moves pretty well but does go on a little too long at 110 minutes. The concept seems more fitting for a brisk 90 minutes. Even so, it brings a fresh angle and fun lunacy to its girl-and-gun formula.

Author rating: 7/10