Movie · 2025 · Action, Comedy, Thriller · 1h 50m · R · English
Curator score: 2.8/10 (505.4K ratings)
Nathan Caine can't feel pain.
Overview
When the girl of his dreams is kidnapped, everyman Nate turns his inability to feel pain into an unexpected strength in his fight to get her back.
Ratings
Curator score: 2.8/10
IMDb: 6.5/10
Letterboxd: 3.09/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 81%
Metacritic: 58
TMDB: 6.8/10
Director
Dan Berk, Robert Olsen
Production
Safehouse Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Infrared Pictures, Domain Entertainment, Circle Management + Production
Cast
Jack Quaid, Amber Midthunder, Ray Nicholson, Jacob Batalon, Betty Gabriel, Matt Walsh, Conrad Kemp, Evan Hengst, Craig Jackson, Lou Beatty Jr., Garth Collins, Tristan de Beer, Jessica Stanley, Chioma Antoinette Umeala, Margot Wood, Dylan Skews, Keeno Lee Hector, Maria Vos, Dominique Maher, DeVille Vannik
Where to watch
Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, MGM Plus, Philo, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Curator Review
Verdict
A breezy, high-concept action-comedy with a strong charm advantage and a fun pain-proof premise, but it sounds more like an enjoyable ride than a fully polished standout. The appeal is less in depth than in momentum, chemistry, and inventive mayhem.
Best for
Viewers who like goofy, charismatic action leads
Fans of inventive, injury-heavy stunt comedy
People in the mood for a fast, disposable crowd-pleaser
Audiences who enjoy genre mashups with romance and violence
Skip if
You want a tightly written thriller with real emotional weight
You dislike broad humor or cartoonish violence
You’re looking for a fresh concept that fully pays off its premise
You prefer action films with serious stakes and grit
Overview
Novocaine plays like a concept-first action comedy built around one very sellable hook: a man who cannot feel pain becomes a surprisingly effective weapon in a rescue mission. That setup gives the film a lot of room for inventive set pieces, and the response suggests it mostly succeeds by leaning into escalation, physical comedy, and Jack Quaid’s easygoing charm.
Worth noting
What seems to hold it back is the same thing that makes it easy to enjoy: it’s light, breezy, and not especially ambitious beyond the premise. The tone lands somewhere between rom-com obsession and splattery action farce, which makes it fun in the moment even if it doesn’t leave much behind.
Bottom line
If you want a movie that keeps moving, delivers a few memorable kills, and treats its central gimmick with enough commitment to stay entertaining, this should work. If you need sharper plotting or a more substantial emotional core, it may feel like a pleasant near-miss rather than a must-see.
Top Letterboxd reviews
jeaba (3★) · 11363 likes
the chappell roan needledrop is crazy because surely jack quaid was not knee-deep in the passenger seat being eaten out
brooklyn (3.5★) · 10332 likes
all that for a woman he went on one date with… bring back real lovers
zoë rose bryant (3★) · 5445 likes
i’ve suffered more for a situationship
noen (3.5★) · 5031 likes
The coolest deaths you’re gonna see in a long time.