The Invisible Man (2020)

[Winston T. Boogie]

Title: The Invisible Man

Genre: Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller

Director: Leigh Whannell

Cast: Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Elisabeth Moss, Storm Reid, Aldis Hodge, Harriet Dyer

Release: 2020-02-26

Plot: The film follows Cecilia, who receives the news of her abusive ex-boyfriend’s suicide. She begins to re-build her life for the better. However, her sense of reality is put into question when she begins to suspect her deceased lover is not actually dead.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

I am guessing this is a new attempt from Universal to get their classic monster films going and is in no way part of the "Dark Universe" thing they were attempting with the Cruise Mummy picture. Is that correct and that whole "dark universe" thing is dead?

 

[TravisR]

I am guessing this is a new attempt from Universal to get their classic monster films going and is no way part of the "Dark Universe" thing they were attempting with the Cruise Mummy picture. Is that correct and that whole "dark universe" thing is dead?

Yeah, that's done.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Yeah, that's done.

Pretty interesting, sad I guess as well, how much they put into the "Dark Universe" and then just walked away after the Cruise film flopped.

This new trailer looks like they took a very contemporary approach this time.

 

[TravisR]

Pretty interesting, sad I guess as well, how much they put into the "Dark Universe" and then just walked away after the Cruise film flopped.

This new trailer looks like the took a very contemporary approach this time.

This looks more like a horror movie and I prefer that to yet another action movie/shared universe franchise.

 

[dpippel]

The only thing interesting about this film for me is that Elizabeth Moss is in it.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

This looks more like a horror movie and I prefer that to yet another action movie/shared universe franchise.

It does, I was not really taken in by that trailer. Abusive boyfriend makes girlfriend look insane by turning invisible.

 

[Jeff Cooper]

This trailer would have been way more effective if they hadn't shown the invisible effect, and just left you wondering was she really going crazy or not.

 

[Malcolm R]

I'm in for director Leigh Whannell. He's put out some great horror movies with James Wan (Saw, Insidious), and he wrote and directed last year's interesting sci-fi flick, Upgrade.

Looks like he's going to direct the remake of Escape from New York next.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

I just think they should have named the picture The Invisible Man's Girlfriend.

 

[TravisR]

I'm in for director Leigh Whannell. He's put out some great horror movies with James Wan (Saw, Insidious), and he wrote and directed last year's interesting sci-fi flick, Upgrade.

Looks like he's going to direct the remake of Escape from New York next.

I hate that they're remaking that movie but Whannell does have a decent track record.

 

[Tommy R]

I’ve been seeing previews for this and it looks really fun. I liked Hollow Man back in the day, but this one looks potentially better.

 

[Jeff Adkins]

I’ve been seeing previews for this and it looks really fun. I liked Hollow Man back in the day, but this one looks potentially better.

It's much better than Hollow Man. It's a very good film and Moss is superb. It had a few too many jump scares for my liking, but otherwise very enjoyable. B+

 

[Jason_V]

It's much better than Hollow Man. It's a very good film and Moss is superb. It had a few too many jump scares for my liking, but otherwise very enjoyable. B+

Agreed on all counts, though I'd go with an A-. Really enjoyed it...a touch long for me, though.

I kept having one thought for most of the movie:

Spoiler: Spoiler

We're not shown the abuse from Adrian. Normal storytelling convention says to "show, not tell." Since we don't see it, I kept thinking there would be a bait and switch where we find out Cecilia is imagining the whole thing.

 

[Patrick Sun]

I thought the script was fairly terrible, but just my 2 centavos.

 

[TravisR]

I liked it but I wish the movie would have ended on

Spoiler

the brother having done it and Adrian actually being dead but I guess the audience does want to see Elizabeth Moss' character really get over him so I understand why they went the way they went.

 

[Jason_V]

I liked it but I wish the movie would have ended on

Spoiler

the brother having done it and Adrian actually being dead but I guess the audience does want to see Elizabeth Moss' character really get over him so I understand why they went the way they went.

Oh, I think there's another reason for that, too, aside from what you wrote.

Spoiler

They've got to be thinking sequel. That ending works exactly as you point out in the event the movie bombs critically or financially. It also serves to set up a sequel or continuation if this movie is a hit. I think we will be seeing Invisible Man 2 or Invisible Woman or Moss popping up in another movie to create a very soft shared universe.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

I thought the script was fairly terrible, but just my 2 centavos.

You're 100% correct.

Warning - potential spoilers involved.

I'm 52 years old. I've seen 1000s of movies in my life, and I'm sure I've seen 100s of horror movies.

I get that many - most? - of these require varying levels of suspension of disbelief, and I can do that.

But "Invisible Man" is the proverbial bridge too far, as it requires destruction of disbelief.

From literally the movie's opening scenes, "Man" pursues paths that make zero sense at all.

For instance, we see Cecilia as utterly controlled by Adrian.

So how did she get the drugs to give to him? How did she avoid his gaze long enough to get birth control pills?

"Oh, Adrian didn't keep her walled in their home all the time - he let her out!"

Sure, okay - I'll swallow that.

So why does Cecilia wait to run away from him until they're asleep together in bed? Why not just go to her sister's place during a pharmacy run?

And the movie makes the title character utterly omnipotent. He's everywhere without a single sign of detection - except for the eye-rolling "scare moment" when he conveniently allows a big puff of air to escape in the cold, which lets us see his breath.

How does Adrian breath in his suit? Every square inch is covered in cameras.

How does he not make a sound? He's there all the time, quieter than a pack of ninjas. The dude never lets a fart slip, or coughs, or even sniffles?

How does he get around? Does he have an invisible car? Does he call Invisible Uber?

How does he eat? Why is his old house left open, even though it's a crime scene and has been abandoned?

Why is the dog still there? Why didn't anyone take Poochie into their care?

How did Adrian fake his own death? Who's the cremated guy in the urn?

How does Invisible Adrian not cast a shadow? He's not magically invisible - he's still there, so even though we can't see him, light still doesn't pass through him.

How did Adrian become a skilled warrior on a par with Neo? He seems virtually unstoppable and he conquers all foes with ease.

Why does James tell Cecilia she needs to leave, but then he takes his daughter and goes, while he allows Cecilia to stay in the house?

How is Adrian's lawyer brother going to get Cecilia off for murder? She appeared to kill her sister in a room full of people.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Literally not a minute of this movie passes without a plot point that makes absolutely zero sense.

The cast does the best they can, but the greatest actors in the world couldn't overcome this utterly idiotic script.

I give the movie a "D-" because of the actors. Everything else about it insults the audience's intelligence at every opportunity.

 

[TravisR]

I have a few fair answers to those questions.

Who's the cremated guy in the urn?

I think that's some poor bastard that they killed, set to look like a suicide and passed off his body. They're rich so I have no problem believing that they could grease enough palms to get that done and it's not like he had an outstanding reason to kill himself (it's not like he was wanted) so they probably wouldn't look that deeply into a suicide.

How is Adrian's lawyer brother going to get Cecilia off for murder? She appeared to kill her sister in a room full of people.

I just took his meaning to be that she'd be locked up in a hospital for a while until she was 'cured'/bought out of the psych ward.

How does he get around? Does he have an invisible car? Does he call Invisible Uber?

Dear God, do I now wish that there was a scene of him invisibly driving a visible car down the street with other drivers doing a double take at the sight.

 

[Jason_V]

I don't honestly care about all those things. I have to have a certain amount of disbelief for this movie to work. I went with it.

My bar is was I entertained or not. In this case, I was. So I'm happy.