Novocaine

Novocaine (2025) is about a man who cannot feel pain. Nathan Caine works at a bank and lives with a congenital nerve disorder, CIPA, which removes both pain and the ability to sweat. It has made him cautious his whole life. Then a colleague is taken hostage by bank robbers and he goes after them. The whole design rests on using that condition both ways. Not feeling pain is an advantage in a fight because he does not stop, and it is a lethal disadvantage because he has no idea how badly he is hurt. Both the comedy and the tension come from there. Jack Quaid leads, with Amber Midthunder and Ray Nicholson. Dan Berk and Robert Olsen directed. Photography began in Cape Town in April 2024. On an 18 million dollar budget it grossed 34.2 million worldwide. It runs 110 minutes. Good for: action with a dark comic streak, one idea pushed as far as it will go, and Jack Quaid. Less good for: the violence is graphic and the bodily damage is shown in detail. Critics split on it; the premise is sharp and the last act settles into an ordinary action film.