Memoirs of an Invisible Man is one of Chevy Chase's best movies. Though more or less a comedy, the picture gives Chase a chance to do much more than smirk and be a wise guy, while providing a good showcase for his dry style of humor. [28 Feb 1992, p.D1]
Many people hate this film. John Carpentar fans, fans of HG Wells, even Chevy Chase fans seem to disregard Memoirs of an invisible man as one of the great comedian's missteps. I think they're all looking at it wrong- this is a very fun film evoking a sentiment that comes close to reading HG Wells's books- an aura and sense of wonder. Chevy Chase becomes invisible by accident and the entire film is a long chase by the bad guy Sam Neil to capture Chase. There is comedy, there are action sequences of the minor kind. The special effects are quite good and look far real than computer generated effects of today. I love the setting of San Francisco and coastal California- you'd usually imagine a film on HG Wells taking place in rain drenched England, but the change of settings is fantastic in my opinion. Give this film a chance- it isn’t specific to any one genre and then make up your own mind independently. It is about time this film got the dues. A fun romp with an invisible man
Memoirs of an Invisible Man is a fantasy film from John Carpenter. Classic plot, good non-stellar cast. The film looks in one breath, unless of course you turn off the brain and try to understand anything. Memoirs of an Invisible Man is one of the most unrealistic fantasy films. Fortunately, the film at least has a distinct antagonist, and Sam Neil did an excellent job of his role. The only thing disappointing is this crumpled ending and the stupidest possible death of David Jenkins. That's not what you expect from John Carpenter. Memoirs of an Invisible Man clearly does not stand the test of time, not everyone will remember this film in Carpenter's career.
This material is intriguing enough that I wish there had been more of it. Comedy consists of the application of logic to the absurd, and there are many more opportunities here than the screenplay takes advantage of.
John Carpenter, unable to decide what kind of movie he wants, alternates between his thriller-hardware mode (Escape from New York) and his touchy-feelie mode (Starman). The result is that adults may fall asleep in their seats during the dreary chase sequences, while children are going to holler "Ick!" and escape to the candy counters during the mushy stuff. [28 Feb 1992]
As directed by John Carpenter, Memoirs of an Invisible Man does much more with special effects than it does with character, and even the visual tricks begin to seem commonplace when they've been repeated too often. [28 Feb 1992, p.C17]
The special effects tricks are often nifty, but where's the wit? Memoirs of an Invisible Man doesn't earn its seriousness. It fades into invisibility while you're watching it.
Despite the superficial Hitchcock trappings, from the Bay Area locales to trains and high places, the comedy thriller is neither particularly comic nor particularly thrilling, and after this outing, director Carpenter (Halloween, Starman) may wish to stay out of sight as well. [28 Feb 1992, p.B]
Is an okay movie. It has some really noticeable plot holes or some characters that personally arent very interesting, but at least it has some funny moments. I recommend it.
Lots of flaws, a poor script and weak characters, but still manages to entertain.
In this film, a businessman is accidentally caught in a strange accident inside a physics laboratory, becoming invisible and eventually having to flee from the CIA, which intends to study it and also use it as a spy and weapon military. This is an excellent premise for a suspense movie with some action but it is spoiled by everything else we see on screen.
Let's start with the script, which is extraordinarily weak. The whole first part of the movie is just a bunch of **** who intend to put that man inside that lab. The script does not care to be logical or present all the characters in a concrete way. The unfolding of the film does not improve things. The villain is good, we see that he is a person who is facing serious problems by arbitrary actions, but it does not convince us how he decides to act. John Carpenter is a good director, but the film does not accurately reflect anything of his personal nature. If his name did not appear in the credits, the movie could safely be assigned to another director. Some scenes from the film are quite comic, but they are not enough to improve the overall picture. There are many loose ends in the plot and little action for the movie that is.
Chevy Chase regularly performs what he needs to do in the role of Nick Halloway, but he has very little to do in the movie besides mourning and running. Daryl Hannah is a beautiful actress who makes the character's only love interest and provides the audience with a satisfying job. Sam Neill is a good actor, but should not have fond memories of this film, where he had very little to do and few opportunities to show talent.
Honestly, I did not find the special effects of this film very striking. The Invisible Man worked well, down to certain details where we actually observed flaws (like that run where the Invisible, chased Man begins to undress and CIA agents only pick up the pants, it was impossible to take off his pants and boots without slowing down the step, but the Invisible Man did it). The partially disappeared building was a good idea, but everything looks very artificial, like a paper model.
This movie is not good, it's just satisfactory. If we're not to think hard, the movie entertains quite well.