Quaid's leading role in Novocaine feels like a natural continuation of these genre-bent everymen. He plays Nathan Caine, a mild-mannered assistant bank manager who has congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis (CIPA), a genetic disorder that impacts his nervous system to the point that he can't feel pain or temperature.

You wouldn't necessarily think it from the damage he sustains over the course of "Novocaine," but Nathan Caine ranks among the most risk-averse action heroes the genre has ever seen. That's because the junior manager of a San Diego bank has a rare disorder known as congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis (or CIPA).

Building a strong narrative clearly took a backseat to inventing fun ways to take advantage of the hero’s rare medical condition.