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SYNOPSIS:
Nick Powell is a handsome young writer with a future as bright
as he is. Then one tragic night he's brutally attacked and
left for dead - but he's really not. He's trapped in a ghostly
limbo where no one can see or hear him except Annie, the one
person who might be able to save him. They must work quickly
together to solve the mystery of his murder before it is too
late and Nick's chance to live again is lost forever.
MOVIE REVIEW
“The Invisible” only earned a measly US$26 million
throughout its domestic run back in April and to make things
worse, it was never picked up by the distributor for general
screening in Singapore. Rottentomatoes gave it only a 20%
freshness, one critic even called it “ludicrous”.
Is
it that bad? Directed by David S. Goyer, the man behind the
famous JSA comic series and notably also scribed the popular
“Blade” franchises, cult movie “Dark City”
and of course a huge mammal, “Batman Begins”.
His third directorial attempt surprisingly is low-key and
non-comics inspired.
Basically,
the premise is a rework of a 2002 Swedish movie, Osynlige,
Den. In the Hollywood version, a young bright student Nicholas
Powell, played by Justin Chatwin (he’s the son of Tom
Cruise’s character in “War of the Worlds”)
is mercilessly pummeled and threw down a hole by his attackers.
Catch is he’s not dead and he has this out-of-body experience,
he can see everyone but not the other way round which explains
why we have this silly credit on the DVD cover, “From
the producers of The Sixth Sense”.
Somewhere
out there, someone is resorting to some desperate measures
to hard sell the DVD to recoup some losses. “The Invisible”
does have credits of its own but please refrain from popping
in this DVD expecting shocks, scares along the line of the
M. Night Shyamalan’s famous thriller.
Seriously,
you can’t classify “The Invisible” as horror
thriller simply it isn’t. It’s not a teen romance
drama either. The pacing is at best leisure, it could trim
down at least 10 minutes or so and it doesn’t lose any
crucial plot points. Nicholas at the same time doesn’t
go through walls as per any typical ghouls portrayed in movies
so you can rule out any effects spectacle. He’s just
there trying hard to establish contact with his mum, his best
friend Pete and his attacker Annie, a problematic schoolmate
who has domestic problems of her own. As it progresses, the
relationship between Nick and his mum sticks on you. He never
knew his controlling mum actually loves him a lot. It does
help that “mum” is played by Academy Award winner
Marcia Gay Harden and Annie, the troubled girl who has a soft
spot for his younger brother.
This
is Goyer’s attempt at a solemn, paranormal piece. I
have not seen the original material so I can’t really
do a straight-out comparison and I doubt Goyer is doing a
per se ghost story. Stripping bare of any effects extravaganza,
teen sexuality, “The Invisible” is a nice fresh
attempt at storytelling using a character that’s not
suppose to exist. Now all it needs to do is to find an audience
without remaining invisible.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
In the Audio Commentary with Director David S. Goyer
and Writer Christine Roum, Goyer and Roum made a
lot of references to the original Swedish movie. They discussed
scenes which are lifted from the original and why certain
scenes, characters are added. Trivia points as in how bitter-cold
the weather are while they are filming and which scenes utilizes
subtle visual effects are also mentioned.
There
are also 4 Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary
with Director David S. Goyer and Writer Christine Roum.
All of them are completed sequences not as in rough cut. Tune
in to the commentary if you wish to know why they are excised.
2
music videos one by Thirty Seconds to Mars
("The Kill") and Sparta ("Taking Back Control")
and a few obligatory Disney trailers round
up this Code 3 DVD.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Goyer’s original intention was to make the movie a bit
darker but the end product is as good as it is. Most of the
shots are dim and dark but the DVD transfer did a fair job
replicating it onscreen.
There
isn’t much activities taking place that requires much
of the stereo but at least the dialogue is of utmost clarity
and Marco Beltrami’s score is pretty soothing. In addition,
this DVD offers at least 5 languages option.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD
RATING :
Review
by Linus Tee
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