Novocaine

Year of release : 2025

Run time : 1h50m

Genre : Action / Thriller

Cast : Jack Quaid

Nathan is assistant manager at the San Diego bank ,who has been in love with one of his co-workers, Sherry, since she started working there, 4 months prior.

Sherry seems to be interested in him too, and asks him out, just that , due to his condition( he has congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis), which makes him feel no pain, having to live his whole life sheltered, without any friends, he is hesitant . He finally accepts, and things go well, as Sherry seems to really like him too. They seem to bond over common life experiences.

The next morning, after spending the night together, it's Christmas Eve, and three robbers dressed as Santa enter the bank, k1lling Nathan's boss (about whom Nathan says that was a very nice man), and taking Sherry hostage.

Nathan decides to go after them, as the robbers k1lled the cops responding the distress call, leaving others wounded. He manages to catch up with one of the robbers, and fights with him, ending up k1lling him. He notices his tattoo, taking a picture, and sending it to his only friend (a gamer he plays video games with all the time), asking him to find out what tattoo parlor makes it, trying to retrieve information on the robbers.

 

The police come to the scene, and think Nathan might be part of it.

I personally enjoyed the movie, it doesn't skip a beat, and doesn't have filler scenes, it's all action packed and fun. Most of the characters are likeable, like our lead, Nathan, the old man he helps, and his gamer friend. Sherry seems nice too, until we find out maybe she had hidden motives to get close to Nathan.

The title of the movie, Novocaine, comes from what kids used to call Nathan in school, bullying him, due to him not feeling pain. You'd think knowing he can die due to the blows, they'd be nice to him, but there were not rational beings.

The actors were good.

The soundtrack was good.

The visual effects were good (Nathan gets hurt a lot-gets burnt,stabbed,beaten).

 

The movie received positive reviews from critics, and grossed 34.2 million dollars at the box office, against a budget of 18 million.

Cinema Score audiences gave the movie a B, on an A+ to F scale.

The movie is 7 days free on Paramount+, Paramount+ on Amazon Prime Video Channels, Paramount+ The Roku Channels; and is for rent / sale on Amazon Video, AppleTv, Fandango at Home.

Rating : Worth a watch !