PretoriaDZ

I chose to see this in a theater as it looked to be the best of a bad lot but was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed it.

Jack Quaid needs to 'fill out' before he truly looks like his father but he did inherit 'that boyish grin'. He's a good actor, too, as is Ray Nicholson (who doesn't remind me of his father at all). Amber Midthunder was an interesting casting choice. Glad to see her ethnicity was not 'part of the story', only her character's bad upbringing as an orphan. It's what I'd like to see 'Hollywood' do, cast people because they're good actors and not always hammering on 'what are they' stuff. Jacob Batalon added some needed humor as a gamer who only knew Nate (Jack Quaid's character) through on line but turns out to be a good guy and shows up to help Nate when he asks.

I had a couple of negatives. First, yes, Nate can't feel pain but some of the bashing his head receives would seem to knock him unconscious (in real life). Second, I think the film would have been better at 90 minutes. How many gross, headbanging or fleshburning scenes do you need to 'get the idea' of Nate's 'superpower'?

The story is mildly amusing and entertaining. However, the stunt casting (using people of color) is distracting as one may find oneself wondering whether a cast member is Black, Spanish, or White. And as such a succession of characters would never be found in actual history, it seems to be another case of looking for diversity in the wrong places. It's like when they remade Ghostbusters with female actors. There was no need to do that but this current 'trend' to provide females and/or people of color roles is the impetus. One must ask why Hollywood is not able to create new stories, new ideas, and new roles for females or people of color instead of 'riding piggyback' on previous or similar storylines. Black Panther is an excellent example of this idea. It stood on its own instead of trying to depend on favor from previous films.