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Well aware of the strengths & limitations, and working within those confinements to put up a story that's serviceable & sufficiently satisfying despite its conventional structure, Memoirs of an Invisible Man is a sci-fi comedy without stakes that finds John Carpenter stepping out of his established forte, features some truly impressive special effects, and though it is no match to the director's finest works, it delivers the goods as a lighthearted, family-friendly entertainer.

I enjoyed Memoirs of an Invisible Man, its no classic but better than its flop reputation. I've always been a fan of Chevy Chase and I'm also a huge fan of John Carpenter although I never imagined that Carpenter would direct a Chevy Chase movie, but to be honest if I had not heard that John Carpenter had directed this or seen his name in the credits and had just watched the movie oblivious to the fact I don't think I would have guessed this was a Carpenter movie. Nothing about it screams John Carpenter, its much more a Chevy Chase movie although a slightly more serious one than normal. He's pretty good in this, more straight and with less of the physical and wacky comedy that made his name. Daryl Hannah is as beautiful as ever as the love interest and Sam Neil makes a good villain. One thing I will say about this film is it seems like it may have been heavily cut as it seems a bit disjointed at times. Special credit to the special effects guys though , amazing effects for a 1992 movie. All in all a rather good movie.

One of the best points of this movie is what it seriously would be like to be invisible. I'm sure everyone, at least once in their life, has wanted to be invisible, but how few of us really thought about the negative side effects? This movie shows them. Nick (played by Chevy Chase, whose great in a serious role,) gets turned invisible in a lab accident. As soon as the CIA find out about this, they stop at nothing to obtain him. And if they can't have them, no one can (including himself.) Although the film has a large amount of funny parts and an overall light tone, it isn't necessarily a comedy. There is a serious over tone to it that makes it very interesting as well as funny and can be enjoyed almost purely for it's story line and insight on what it would really be like to be invisible. Definitely worth a look for anyone who's up for a good movie.

Chevy Chase is at it again. This time he plays a yuppie who become totally transparent after a freak accident. In "Memoirs of an Invisible Man", Nick Halloway(Chase) becomes both victim and pawn of the CIA. Halloway becomes invisible following an explosion in a laboratory which, makes him a perfect weapon against the enemy. However, someone in the CIA wanted him for more than that. So Nick escapes, and goes to the woman he loves dearly, Alice Monroe(Darryl Hannah). She thinks that Nick is dead, but when she sees the truth, it's out of sight. Literally. Nick's personality and wit gives him the edge when Jenkins(Sam Neill) would give him a promise to give him back his molecules so he can be living a normal life again. So far, Nick finds his condition a bit of a plus so far. He can play practical jokes, without getting caught. The only way you can get caught is to misuse the ability of stealth. It's a lot of fun, it's too bad it didn't do well at the box office. This movie is perfect for home viewing I believe. It wouldn't hurt to be invisible, just get used to it. 4 out of 5 stars!

Eventually there comes a time when actors who usually specialize in comedy decide that, for at least once, they'd like to be taken seriously. And so it goes with this Chevy Chase vehicle in which he largely plays it straight. He's cast as Nick Halloway, a securities analyst who is rendered invisible after a freak accident at a laboratory. This makes things difficult as he attempts to romance a documentarian (a radiant Daryl Hannah) whom he's just met, and tries to avoid a sneaky Federal agent (an appropriately smarmy Sam Neill) who wants to exploit Nicks' situation.

At the least, "Memoirs of an Invisible Man" offers an interesting look at a person who has to accept invisibility as a fact of life. In addition to the benefits of not being visible, he must deal with the realities. For example, HE may be invisible, but the food and drink he ingests won't be as they enter his system. All the spy stuff is pretty standard-issue, and one has to presume that the source novel by H.F. Saint was somewhat more nuanced.

Still, this is reasonably entertaining. It was clearly just work for hire for the celebrated veteran director John Carpenter; because it's among the least "Carpenter-esque" of his filmography, it may not be very satisfying to his fans.

Chase is very earnest. You have to respect his restraint; at no time do you get the indication that he wants to crack wise. Hannah is appealing and of course gorgeous. Neill is an effective villain, although he doesn't really try to suppress his natural Kiwi accent for the role. Familiar faces like Michael McKean, Stephen Tobolowsky, Patricia Heaton, Donald Li (From JC's "Big Trouble in Little China"), Rosalind Chao, and Sam Anderson also turn up. JC himself has a cameo late in the picture as a helicopter pilot (billed as "Rip Haight").

But the real stars of the movie are undoubtedly the visual effects team at ILM. If a viewer is otherwise bored with this, they can't deny that the invisibility gags are effective.

Overall, good for some chuckles and thrills.

Six out of 10.