It took me a long time to get around to
finally watching the much hyped Disturbia,
the
film which set the US Box Office (and Shia LaBouffe's career)
alight. You see, the whole selling point of "It borrows heavily from Rear Window" was
rather off putting.
Surprisingly, the flick was friggin fantastic.
Sadly, this doesn't seem to be the case for The Invisible which
"Borrows heavily from Ghost".
The
strange thing here is that Director David Goyer (the man behind the
likes of and Batman
Begins Blade) does quite a competant job of "borrowing"
various techniques from Disturbia
to great effect, with a damn cool soundtrack weaved throughout
proceedings. However, there's a dash of Donnie Darko and a
splash of Goosebumps
- and it all comes together in one odd tasting (and never quite
satisfying) mix.
The
Invisible follows Nick Powell (Justin Chatwin, best known
from his efforts in War of the Worlds)
is a handsome young writer with a future as bright as he is clever (but
by gum he's a moody little bastard!). One tragic night he’s brutally
attacked and left for dead (yep, his best mate rats him out - noticing
the similarities yet?) — except he’s not. Now Nick is trapped in a
ghost-limbo where no one can see or hear him...except for Annie (the
moody girl from "the wrong side of the tracks" who attacked him). If
they can solve the mystery of his semi-murder before it is too late,
there’s a chance he’ll live again.
Interestingly enough, The
Invisible and Disturbia
opened in the US at the same time. Disturbia
had a #1 debut and went onto make over $80 million, while The Invisible
opened at #2 and dropped over 50% in takings the next week. And the
difference, it seems, is Shia.
From
the get-go, Chatwin's character Nick is... well, is a bit of a spoiled
brat. Sure, his Dad died (and fair enough, that would have some effect)
- but the kid lives in a mansion, he is smart, he's got busty blondes
throwing themselves at him... but he is moody as hell. So when he
finally does get beaten over the head with a stick, there is a part of
you that goes "Oh well, let's move on... Can I have a go?".
That's not to take anything away from Chitwin's performance. If this were Donnie Darko
then I would be screaming 'Oscar Contender' - but it's not. It's a
fairly lame teen thriller - and one which is dabbling in fiftenn
different tonal genere's at that. Disturbia
was tense, but LaBouffe lent a likeable fun element to it. You simply
just want to go up to Nick, slap him on the upside of the head and tell
him to 'Get over it - Smile! At least you can perve on girls in the
shower now!' (Don't lie - all you boys were thinking it!!!).
Gripes aside, the film does look
fantastic, with some great colours and cinematography. The soundtrack
is top notch (if not at total odds with the tone of the film) and there
are a few messages and morals for the kiddies to take home with them.
By no means a stinker - but The
Invisible is still pretty likely to dissapear into the
background.
EXTRAS
Not
a great deal of interest here. A few trailers, commentaries and the
like. Nothing to startling, although David Goyer has a few interesting
points to offer which fans may enjoy.
