Novocaine
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: March 14, 2025 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
58
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 38 Critic Reviews
Positive:
19
Mixed:
17
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Radheyan SimonpillaiMay 9, 2025
It helps that Quaid is so good at landing every punchline, if not punch. His Nathan may not have any sense of pain, but Quaid gives him a great sense of humour. Read full review
60
Time OutWhelan BarzeyMar 26, 2025
‘Painful to watch’ isn’t often a term of praise, but this action-comedy about a man who loses the ability to feel physical discomfort channels its unusual, nerve-numbing premise into a fun and oddly romantic ride. Read full review
60
EmpireJohn NugentMar 25, 2025
A largely painless viewing experience — but it could have been far more pleasurable. Read full review
60
ScreenCrushMatt SingerMar 12, 2025
Novocaine belongs to the same cinemasochistic tradition as movies like Evil Dead II and Crank, where the audience is invited to derive twisted pleasure from watching a heroic leading man get the crap beaten out of him in inventive ways. It’s not as good as those movies. But on its own terms, it’s painless enough. Pleasurable even. Read full review
60
VarietyPeter DebrugeMar 9, 2025
In Novocaine, it’s the romance that keeps us going, more than whatever sadistic delight the co-directors take in poking Nathan full of holes, treating him like some kind of Looney Tunes character. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubMatt SchimkowitzMar 12, 2025
Despite the high concept, Novocaine feels as risk-averse as its protagonist, afraid to go full-on action-comedy or veer hard into torture porn. Read full review
58
IndieWireKate ErblandMar 8, 2025
The film makes a great case for Quaid as action hero, Midthunder as romantic charmer, and Berk and Olson as being ready to step out of their horror-centric background. Read full review
55
The Daily BeastNick SchagerMar 13, 2025
In trying to have it both ways, it succeeds in neither, in the process stranding its charming leading man in a saga that needed to be either goofier or more gruesome. Read full review
55
Paste MagazineJesse HassengerMar 12, 2025
Novocaine starts with a premise that is Crank-like in its absurdity, deepens it with feeling, and then rams full speed ahead through a litany of stupidities. Read full review
55
The Film VerdictAlonso DuraldeMar 8, 2025
At nearly every juncture, the filmmakers display a lack of nerve, exercising restraint precisely when restraint is anathema to their goals. They’re cautious rather than crazed. Read full review
50
Little White LiesHannah StrongApr 1, 2025
Beyond the creative stunt choreography, Novocaine doesn’t leave much of an impression full stop, and its saccharine ending relegates it to a category of films with intriguing premises that end up ultimately forgettable. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesAmy NicholsonMar 14, 2025
The unwieldy action rom-com Novocaine makes a convincing argument that its lead, Jack Quaid, can do it all: woo the girl, shoot the goon and tickle the audience. The movie itself has a harder time, screwing its three genres together so awkwardly that it tends to limp. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsMar 12, 2025
By the end of Novocaine, it’s as if the filmmakers — who have talent, and who are now off and running in a commercial sense — forgot how their movie started: with Quaid and Midthunder getting the material and the screen time needed to hook an audience’s interest, before the jocular sadism commenced in earnest. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeOdie HendersonMar 11, 2025
Novocaine is a numbing experience that’s best seen on cable at 3 a.m., preferably after you’ve numbed yourself with the vice of your choice. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleG. Allen JohnsonMar 10, 2025
There is a sweet romantic comedy action that sometimes emerges in this bone crunching, bloody spectacle, but only occasionally does it surface. Read full review
40
The TelegraphTim RobeyApr 11, 2025
Novocaine may not be based on any pre-existing IP – no comic book or game, say. But that’s not much to crow about, because few flights of the imagination have lately felt lower in altitude. Read full review
40
The GuardianBenjamin LeeMar 12, 2025
There’s also not really enough fun here, the repetitive nature of the fight scenes – quip, laugh, injury, wince – growing tired fast. Read full review
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