The Invisible Man Is Certified Fresh

This week at the movies, we’ve got a mad scientist on the loose (The Invisible Man, starring Elisabeth Moss and Aldis Hodge). What are the critics saying?

The Invisible Man (2020)

92%

Once upon a time, Universal Pictures had plans for a so-called “Dark Universe,” in which the studio hoped to reboot all of its classic monster movies and bring the characters together in a united storyline akin to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Unfortunately, after the mediocre performance of 2014’s Dracula Untold prompted a soft reset of the franchise, 2017’s The Mummy officially halted those plans when it also debuted to dismal box office returns and even worse reviews, forcing Universal to rethink their strategy entirely. The solution? Stick to standalone films, at least for the time being. That brings us to this week’s The Invisible Man, a new take on the classic H.G. Wells novel that shifts the focus from the titular character to the woman he terrorizes. Elisabeth Moss is the woman in question, an architect trapped in an abusive relationship with a brilliant but controlling scientist, who finally finds the courage to flee the relationship, only to learn her ex has committed suicide. Or has he? Is he the one stalking her from the shadows and breathing down her neck? And if he is, who will believe her? Critics say The Invisible Man is a smartly written thriller that tackles timely themes but also provides sufficient spectacle, and it benefits from a magnetic performance from Moss in the lead. The Dark Universe may be no more, but if Universal continues to make films of this caliber, they may be onto something after all.

Also Opening This Week In Limited Release

• Blood on Her Name (2019) 96% , a thriller about a woman who covers up an accidental killing and then decides to deliver the dead body to the man’s family, is at 100%.
• Saint Frances (2019) 99% , a comedic drama about a woman who forms an unlikely friendship with the six-year-old under her care, is at 95%.
• Straight Up (2019) 93% , a romantic comedy about a young gay man who develops a relationship with a struggling actress, is at 91%.
• My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising (2019) 92% , a feature film installment of the popular superhero manga/anime series, in which Class 1-A encounters a familiar foe on a peaceful island, is at 89%.
• Tread (2019) 92% , a documentary about the working man pushed to the edge who rampaged through a Colorado town in his 63-ton bulldozer in 2004, is at 89%.
• The Whistlers (2019) 83% , a Romanian thriller about a police officer who infiltrates a crime syndicate in the Canary Islands that communicates by whistling, is Certified Fresh at 87%.
• Disappearance at Clifton Hill (2019) 78% , a drama about a troubled woman who tries to solve the mysterious disappearance of a boy whose abduction she witnessed 25 years prior, is at 74%.
• Burden (2018) 49% , starring Garrett Hedlund and Forest Whitaker in a drama about a Black South Carolina preacher who draws the ire of his community for sheltering a white supremacist just as a museum dedicated to the Ku Klux Klan opens in their town, is at 63%.
• Greed (2019) 50% , starring Steve Coogan and Isla Fisher in a satire about a fashion mogul planning an extravagant 60th birthday party, is at 56%.
• Guns Akimbo (2019) 53% , starring Daniel Radcliffe and Samara Weaving in an action-comedy about a man who has guns bolted to his hands and is forced to participate in a real-life death match broadcast over the internet, is at 56%.
• Wendy (2020) 42% , Benh Zeitlin’s alternative take on the story of Peter Pan from the perspective of Wendy Darling, is at 47%.
• The Jesus Rolls (2019) 20% , starring John Turturro and Bobby Canavale in an unofficial spinoff of the beloved Coen brothers film The Big Lebowski that focuses on Turturro’s character Jesus Quintana, is at 25%.

Thumbnail image by Universal Pictures