Year of Release: 1992
Director: John Carpenter
Starring: Chevy Chase, Daryl Hannah, Sam Neill, Michael McKean, Stephen Tobolowsky, Jim Norton, Pat Skipper, Richard Epcar, Steven Barr, Gregory Paul Martin, Patricia Heaton
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7
Watch it on Amazon
Synopsis and Review:
Following the independently financed diptych of "Prince of Darkness" and "They Live", director John Carpenter started the 90s with a big budget film, with this adaptation of H.F. Saint's, "Memoirs of an Invisible Man". Originally intended to be directed by Ivan Reitman, Carpenter took the reigns of the film, and as usual, made matters more interesting. The film follows the story of Nick Halloway, a stock analyst, who has spent most of his life avoiding responsibility and very much connecting in a meaningful way with others. While attending a presentation in a Laboratory, Nick who is hungover, decides to go to an office and take a small nap. Without knowing/realizing, the lab goes through a meltdown, which results in a substantial part of the building becoming invisible, including Nick himself. The CIA seizes Nick and a shady agent by the name of David Jenkins, plans on using him as a secret agent, which prompts Nick to escape. Nick eventually manages to recount his story to Alice, a woman he had a rapport with at a party, who believes him and tries to help him out. They both set out a plan to elude Nick's captors, which will allow him to start his life elsewhere.
John Carpenter had a fantastic output during the 80s, even if "Big Trouble in Little China" was a box office disappointment for Twentieth Century Fox, forcing him to work with smaller budgets, still releasing memorable features. While at first glance this film may seem an oddity in his career, is nonetheless something that ties to some of his recurring themes: the central hero, is an every day man, who is thrown into extraordinary circumstances, and who has to resort to his own abilities (and resourcefulness), to overcome towering obstacles. These every day heroes had been a part of some of his more well known features, such as "The Thing", "Starman" and even "Escape from NY". Using Chevy Chase as the lead actor, did tag the film more openly with the comedy genre, but the film manages to be both lighthearted, but also sufficiently dark to provide an adequate balance to the narrative. The supporting cast is uniformly good, even if Daryl Hannah doesn't have much to do, but the always reliable Sam Neill makes for an interesting sinister force. The visual effects are fantastic, and the score from Shirley Walker while not as iconic as Carpenter's own scores, is competently adequate. Worth watching!
John Carpenter had a fantastic output during the 80s, even if "Big Trouble in Little China" was a box office disappointment for Twentieth Century Fox, forcing him to work with smaller budgets, still releasing memorable features. While at first glance this film may seem an oddity in his career, is nonetheless something that ties to some of his recurring themes: the central hero, is an every day man, who is thrown into extraordinary circumstances, and who has to resort to his own abilities (and resourcefulness), to overcome towering obstacles. These every day heroes had been a part of some of his more well known features, such as "The Thing", "Starman" and even "Escape from NY". Using Chevy Chase as the lead actor, did tag the film more openly with the comedy genre, but the film manages to be both lighthearted, but also sufficiently dark to provide an adequate balance to the narrative. The supporting cast is uniformly good, even if Daryl Hannah doesn't have much to do, but the always reliable Sam Neill makes for an interesting sinister force. The visual effects are fantastic, and the score from Shirley Walker while not as iconic as Carpenter's own scores, is competently adequate. Worth watching!
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