Novocaine 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Novocaine 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

No Pain, All Gain

Reviewed by Martin Liebman June 27, 2025

If you're older, and you've had any serious dental work done, chances are you heard the word "novocaine" bandied about in the office. It was a popular numbing medication in dentistry that was used to lessen, damper, decrease, or negate the pain associated with invasive dental work. In other words, it was a hardcore pain reducer, numbing the area for pain-free dentistry. Newer medications have taken its place, but the word is colloquially associated with "pain reduction." Now, however, it's associated, well, Novocaine, a high concept action-comedy film starring Jack Quaid (Companion) not as an indestructible action hero, but as one who can keep on going because he feels no pain.

Nathan Caine (Quaid) is a mild-mannered and peculiar assistant manager at a San Diego bank. He takes many precautions against bodily injury: tennis balls on desk corners, soft covers on pencil tips, and the like, and he even refuses to eat solid food for fear of biting his tongue. One day, on a date with a relatively new employee named Sherry (Amber Midthunder), he reveals to her his rare genetic disorder: congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis (CIPA). Basically, this means he cannot feel pain, so if he should get hurt, he may not even realize it. When she convinces him to take a bite of pie, against his better judgment, it’s a hit, and they become a romantic item, forever changing Nathan's world. So when Sherry is taken hostage after a bank robbery, Nathan steps into action, throwing all caution to the wind to save the girl, no matter the cost to himself.

There is a term in the video game industry in shooting games for bad guys and bosses who can absorb tons of gunfire: "bullet sponges." And that's sort of the sense that audiences will get with Quaid's Nathan Caine. He soaks up incredible amounts of bodily harm for the sake of fulfilling his mission. He takes no pleasure in it, but he takes the (no pain) in stride, submitting himself to all sorts of maladies and succumbing to various injuries for the sake of "getting the girl," which is just about the oldest plot line in the book, but here spun with a new perspective. Caine is the opposite of the unstoppable 80s action hero sorts that used to populate these movies, who were all but invincible and stood against an army of dispensable bad guys. Part of this movie's charm is in how Caine really doesn't know what he is doing, but his "high pain tolerance" allows him to take combat in stride, eventually getting the upper hand (even if it means dunking his hand in scalding hot grease) and finally emerging victorious through a war of attrition. It's a cool concept that is done well, pushed far, and creatively thought out in nearly every segment.

One of the things the movie does well is to play up the concept's externalities while not alienating the internal themes working in parallel with the action. The film quickly, but effectively, establishes Caine as fearful of self harm, and the sudden thrust into action where he not only goes against the grain of his life but dives headfirst into near insanity, using his condition as a weapon in and of itself, is well realized. Audiences get the sense that, while Caine feels no external pain, his pain is internalized with Sherry's kidnapping; he's only just broken free from the an almost Monk-like level of self protection and isolation from anything and everything that might threaten his delicate balance, and he doesn't want that newfound freedom taken away from him. He's hungry to feel, and in order to keep on feeling inside he will use his inability to feel on the outside to its fullest. Quaid plays the part well. He's funny as he fumbles through his zero experience limitations that hinder his prowess at combat, but he shows some physical growth as his body deteriorates as it's put through the wringer.

Novocaine 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc.

Paramount releases Novocaine to the UHD format with a 2160p/Dolby Vision UHD presentation. The image is technically proficient and solidly rendered, but this is not a visually dynamic sort of movie. It's rather basic in terms of detail and color, delivering nothing approaching eye-candy levels of visual bliss but at the same time doing everything well. There are no flubs or flaws, just a good, dependable image. Clarity is fine, maybe not pushing the resolution to its maximum, but showcasing fine details like skin, clothes, and environmental textures with all the ease and efficiency fans have come to expect. Likewise, the color presentation is good, but the movie's visual stylings do not permit much in terms of bold color spans and memorable color accents. Of course, red blood is a highlight for color intensity, and the image captures various support hues nicely. There is a certain drabness to some of the image, though. Black levels are good but maybe not quite so perfectly inky and deep as one might expect. White balance is fine, not super crisp, and skin tones look good if not, again at times as dictated by the color timing, a little flat and drab. I didn't see any noise or compression issues worth noting.

Novocaine 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Novocaine releases onto UHD with a Dolby Atmos soundtrack. The presentation fares much like the video. It's solid, it's dependable, but it's not really much of a showstopper. During the robbery and the subsequent gunfight, listeners will enjoy solid spacing to the shooting, crisp depth to the shots, and a fairly full soundstage that envelops the listener into the chaos, but it's not anything more or less than many other like soundtracks on the market. Musical definition is good. It's well spaced along the front, primarily. Surround usage carries additional music support, action and ambient effects, and the like, to basic satisfaction. I did not notice any sort of overtly discrete overhead usage. Dialogue is clear, efficient, well prioritized, and centered for the duration.

Novocaine 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This UHD release of Novocaine includes a trio of supplements. A digital copy code and a Blu-ray disc are also included with purchase.

• Prepare for Pain: Pre-Production (1080p, 12:56): The movie's high concept, CIPA and its real world challenges, Caine's character, direction and performances, cast and performances, and more.
• A World of Hurt: Production (1080p, 15:53): Exploring filming locations, the making of key scenes, stunt work and fight choreography, production design details, cinematography, and more.
• Maximum Physical Damage: Makeup Effects (1080p, 9:31): As the title suggests, this piece looks at makeup and gore effects.

Novocaine 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Novocaine isn't groundbreaking cinema, but it's a solid bit of action-comedy that capably mixes over the top violence with a softer dramatic undercurrent. I think the film's best asset is how it gently plays with Caine's wounded psyche in the midst of his perpetually breaking body. It could have played that a little deeper and more richly, but it works as it is, letting the mayhem overwhelm the screen while leaving the viewer to think about the deeper dynamics once the credits roll. This isn't going to sweep the Oscars or anything, but it's an altogether enjoyable little cinema romp. Paramount's Blu-ray delivers quality, if not generic, video and audio elements. Extras are limited to three pieces. Recommended, and fans should also consider dropping a few dollars more on the concurrency released SteelBook packing variant.