Playing with a character that’s as if Clark Kent didn’t entirely realise the pros of having superhuman strength, or, perhaps, a more reluctant John Wick, Novocaine – No Pain (which is the title being pushed here in Australia for the otherwise known as Novocaine, presumably off the notion that local audiences aren’t entirely aware of the anesthetic drug properties of Novocaine itself) is a mostly fun action outing that works more so off the involvement of the effortlessly likeable Jack Quaid.
His Nathan Caine can’t feel pain, so Novocaine was a nickname he got stuck with in high school, where his peers seemingly tortured him for their own amusement, knowing there wouldn’t be any repercussions. At least not physically so. The quiet Nathan keeps mostly to himself, presumably off the back of not wanting anyone further to know of his condition – an autosomal recessive disorder of the nervous system known as CIPA (Congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis) – where something as innocent as eating a piece of pie could result in catastrophe, as he could unintentionally bite his own tongue off and be none the wiser.
Because he’s particularly smitten with Sherry (Amber Midthunder), a co-worker at the San Diego credit union he’s the assistant manager of, he divulges his condition over dinner – well, drinks for our Nathan – and, for a moment, it appears as if Lars Jacobson‘s script will indulge in a sweet romance of sorts as the two navigate intimacy in the face of how much pain (and pleasure) Nathan can handle. He just can’t have nice things though, and the next day the bank is held up in a daring robbery. Sherry is kidnapped, which the authorities don’t seem fussed on as a particular, and so Nathan takes it upon himself to rescue her, knowing that, along the way, any mishaps won’t have specific repercussions.
Now, Nathan can, of course, still die from being injured. But he’s often tortured prior, which means any broken bones or brutal beatings won’t really affect him, and this is often used for a series of amusing comic beats that break up the severity of what he’s actually going through. Directors Dan Berk and Robert Olsen (who have worked primarily in the horror space, with such features as Villains and Significant Other on their roster) have fun with such a premise, and their clear love of horror does bleed into proceedings with what Nathan is subjected to, but when he isn’t copping a beating, there is a sense that the wind is flailing off the sails, with Jacobson’s script not always maintaining the crackle the film so desperately needs to stay aflame.
Unlike the aforementioned John Wick films, where so much of the running time is devoted to choreographed action and minimal story, Novocaine – No Pain tries to give maybe too much story over the action potential there is in seeing someone like Nathan take on a criminal world he’s vastly unqualified for. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to inject intended emotionality and exposition into action-heavy tellings, but there’s not much meat on the plotted bone within the Novocaine world, with the lead villain of the piece (Ray Nicholson) not distinguishing himself beyond archetypes and the two detectives (Matt Walsh and Betty Gabriel) clear victims of standard characterisation.
A winning premise that isn’t explored to its full bonkers potential, Novocaine – No Pain is enjoyable nonetheless, elevated to its fullest by the always jovial presence of Quaid, who’s more of an action star than we expect; he just needs a vehicle in its fully realised form to match his own.
THREE STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Novocaine – No Pain is now screening in Australian theatres.
