Review | Novocaine movie review: Jack Quaid feels no pain going from mild to mad in action thriller
Quaid plays a timid introvert who dates a colleague, sees her abducted by a brutal gang and takes matters into his own hands to get her back
3/5 stars
Characters who are impervious to pain, or have an exceptionally high pain threshold, have become increasingly ubiquitous in a cinematic landscape dominated by superheroes and comic-book characters like Deadpool and Wolverine.
Similarly, with infrastructure now firmly in place in the film industry to transform the gangliest of thespians into a shredded war machine, a new subgenre built around everyday action heroes has found lasting commercial success.
Novocaine, from directing duo Dan Berk and Robert Olsen, draws from both phenomena, presenting a mild-mannered bank manager with a rare congenital nerve condition who is forced into action after his girlfriend is kidnapped.
In its opening movements, the film dares to unfold slowly and in unexpected directions.
Jack Quaid, son of Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan and the star of hit TV series The Boys, plays Nate Caine, a timid introvert who shies away from hot drinks, solid food and unnecessary human interaction because of his condition.
