Review Detail

A very twisted CITY OF ANGELS that for every reason to see it with your teen, I'd recommend not. The term "The Invisible" takes on two meanings and we are essentially carried through two storylines -- the good boy and the bad girl. When a vengeance beating goes wrong, it appears the bad girl kills the good boy. But it turns out, the boy isn't actually dead yet and his soul tries to get someone to tell the police where his body is before he actually dies.

As a spirit that can't be seen, the boy is able to change perspective and see beyond public appearances. He's able to see the reasons why his mother appears cold and disinterested. And he's able to see why the bad girl acts the way she does. In this way, THE INVISIBLE is wonderful.

The film shows the reality of breaking laws. Friends with no morals will still have no morals when it comes to their friends. Crime only breeds more crime which breeds jail time or worse. This, too, is wonderful for older kids to see in the era of video games where the objective is to kill people in the most graphic way.

There's also a nice bit about forgiveness and responsibility and a great opportunity to talk to your kid about their beliefs in dying and life after death.

However, the film turns disturbing when the soul of the dying boy falls in love with his troubled killer. Let's be honest, as parents, it's great for our kids to realize that bullies and criminals come from troubled homes but we don't want them sympathizing with these kids so much that they date, fall in love with, and marry criminals. The underlying message in the film is that if you treat someone "bad" well and give them a chance to be "good," they will change. Unfortunately, THE INVISIBLE is ultimately a fairytale. For kids 12 and older.