The story of The Invisible Man is updated for the 21st century in this tale of research scientists who've managed to turn animals invisible and then bring them back, and the arrogant egomaniac in charge, Sebastian Caine (Kevin Bacon). He's ready to start testing the process on people, and offers himself up as the guinea pig. Trouble arises when they can't make him visible again, and he becomes utterly frustrated, then gleeful when he realizes the power he holds. So it's then a very short trip into psycho territory for this genius, who begins to terrorize various unlucky individuals, including his own team. The movie is certainly not without its flaws, as eventually it does turn pretty routine, a high tech, sci-fi slasher with an overblown, Hollywood style climax, characters who start acting rather dumb, and, to top it all off, a villain whose virtual indestructibility makes him akin to a typical horror movie antagonist. Still, it's extremely well made technically, with director Paul Verhoeven in fine form, and does have a substantially nasty edge that may amuse some fans of the genre. Even at an hour and 53 minutes, it is paced fairly well, and gets a lot of mileage from Bacon's fun villainous portrayal. Elisabeth Shue and Josh Brolin also do fairly well as the co-leads trying to keep their romance secret, knowing well how ugly Caine's reaction would be to the truth. The main reason to see this movie are the eye popping special effects, especially as we see characters like Caine and the gorilla go through stages of visibility. Even with its flaws, the movie is undeniably exciting and far from boring. Followed by a direct to DVD sequel six years later. Seven out of 10.
