Feeling No Pain

Novocaine (2025): another type of Nobody scenario. Or maybe a superhero movie? 

Jack Quaid is Nathan Caine, a mild-mannered bank manager who has a genetic condition: he can't feel pain. As a result, he is rather timid and cautious. For example, he can't eat solid food. If he chews, he might accidentally bite his tongue off. His only friend is someone he met online, who he plays WoW (I guess) with.

There's a girl at the bank that he is rather taken with, Amber Midthunder. One day she bumps into him, pouring coffee all over his hands. He brushes it off, although he's badly burned, because he didn't feel a thing. She invites him to lunch, and he at first refuses, but his online friend has encouraged him to get out there, so he accepts. At a diner, he tells her about his condition - she calls him a superhero. He responds by telling her about all the times he hurt himself without realizing it. But she does convince him to try a piece of cherry pie, which is a transformative experience.

The next day, the bank is robbed. The head manager won't tell them the combination to the main safe, so they shoot him. Next in line is Quaid. When they threaten Midthunder, he gives up the combination. They leave kn two cars as the police arrive, taking Midthunder in one as a hostage. 

When he realizes that the police aren't prioritizing the hostage, he steals a police car and takes off after them. He's just an ordinary guy, but he can't feel pain, which gives him an upper hand.

This is a pretty good premise, leading to some fun action. For ex (it's in the trailer, so no spoiler), when the gun goes into a fryer, Quaid just pulls it out, burns be damned. He gets shot, and pulls the bullet out without a quiver. And so on. But it also seems like he has Wolverine-level recuperative powers. Even without the pain, a bullet hole or a serious burn would make it hard to use that body part, wouldn't it? Anyway, as the movie goes on, he does get weaker, and has to resort to epinephrine and a defibrulator to keep going (shades of Crank!). 

However, the leads are good - Amber Midthunder (Prey) was particularly fun and empathic. It wasn't the greatest action movie, but it had a good hook, and, I guess, you could dance to it.