Dan Berk and Robert Olson’s latest film Novocaine hits Irish cinemas today, with a cast starring Jack Quaid, Amber Midthunder and Ray Nicholson. Dáire, Katie and Aaron from the Phoenix Film team share their thoughts on the movie below.
Dáire’s Review
The latest movie in Jack Quaid’s nice guy rise comes an action movie with a twist: think John Wick with CIPA. Nathan Caine lives a simple, maybe overly cautious life as an assistant manager at a credit union. After a date with the girl of his dreams who is taken hostage by bank robbers and with a new found sense of purpose, the “superpower” of not feeling pain and some basic medical training leads Nathan to stop at nothing to rescue his princess.
First and foremost, the action, set pieces and fight choreography is very impressive, fully leaning into this movie’s unique gimmick and utilising it well. This leads to interactions you can’t have seen anywhere else. Quaid, as you might expect, gives a charming performance as our apprehensive hero and adds to every scene he’s in.
With that being said, I found the overall narrative and other characters unengaging. While Nathan’s portion of the film fully indulges in to its premise, being comedic and entertaining, I was disinterested when we cut away to the thieves on the run or police chasing both. I still think that this movie, while flawed, can still be a riot at it’s best and would recommend it.
Katie’s Review
I saw Novocaine early, and honestly I really liked it and it’s been really hard to not go around spoiling it when I tell people to watch it. It’s like the action and brutality of Monkey Manmeets the comedy of Deadpool. The fight scenes are intense and creative, and the comedy and romance is quite well written. The only thing I’d have liked to see more of is the other characters beyond Nathan Caine, but I do suspect that some scenes might have been cut for time. (Hear more on that from our audio review!)
I think the film worked in Nate’s CIPA really well, both in showing bits of his daily life and how cautious he has to be, and in making the fights really intense or funny, like him having to pretend to be in pain at times, or other characters being genuinely confused as to why he’s perfectly fine after getting hit.
Overall, I’d give Novocaine an easy 8 out of 10, and I’d recommend it for any action fans. Maybe be a little cautious if you don’t like blood though: there’s a lot.
Aaron’s Review
Novocaine is a very good and interesting comedy/action movie with Jack Quaid playing his typical “socially awkward loser” protagonist but with a twist, he can’t feel pain. It’s an action-packed experience from start to finish with a very poignant song choice in the opening sequence, of REM’s “Everybody Hurts” to kick us off.
There are some drastic tonal shifts in parts but they aren’t jarring and don’t take away from
the experience. It’s an easy and very enjoyable watch with Jack Quaid putting in a fantastic performance. As a nerd for good cinematography and sfx, this was great for me. It reminds me of Monkey Man by Dev Patel in terms of camera work and direction.
Overall a very enjoyable watch and I highly recommend it to people looking for a fresh, funny and action packed experience!
Novocaine is playing in Irish cinemas now
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