I've been fortunate in my recent choices of SyFy Channel movies. I wasn’t familiar with this film, but there wasn't anything else on television last night, and I also noticed that Paul Verhoeven directed it—he's made several films I’ve really enjoyed, so I decided to check it out. It turns out this is another movie that rises somewhat above the typical quality of those shown on SyFy. The film has a 27% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which seems inaccurate. Those “professional critics” used by Rotten Tomatoes tend to dismiss anything they don’t consider intellectually stimulating enough for their perceived superior tastes. I'm not sure why they continue using these people for their official ratings instead of relying on actual viewers. It has a 5.6 out of 10 rating on IMDb, which seems like a more reasonable assessment. I was debating between giving it a 7 or a 6, and ultimately settled on a 6 because, as mentioned in the title, it’s a decent movie but not exceptional. The plot is fairly typical: A scientist experiments on himself, the experiment goes wrong, the scientist descends into madness, some action sequences occur, the scientist dies, and the remaining characters have a positive resolution. Consequently, the film largely depends on its special effects, which are quite impressive. The various invisibility-related visuals, especially scenes where Caine is partially visible due to smoke or water effects, are entertaining. Kevin Bacon delivers a strong performance as an unlikeable fanatic scientist. He does a remarkably good job, even while wearing a latex mask—a considerable accomplishment when facial expressions are restricted. The rest of the cast was fairly ordinary, typical of Hollywood productions. Overall, I found the movie quite enjoyable. It felt a little slow initially, and Caine’s display of megalomania did become somewhat repetitive over time. As noted, his character was very disagreeable. Things became more engaging once he turned invisible, although it still took some time for the pace to pick up. It wasn't a wasted evening watching this film, and it is certainly worth at least 6 out of 10 stars.

Source on TMDB