Above the Shadows (2019) User Reviews

An under the radar, heartfelt, original movie!

[dawgsfan92 · 7/10 · 15 October 2019]

First off, Alan Ritchson is a superb and underrated actor! Second, the idea for this movie was refreshingly original! With all the remakes, and remakes and remakes of movies nowadays, it's so refreshing to see an original idea! This is definitely a movie that flew under the radar and I would definitely recommend it!

Simple and enjoyable.

[korpake · 7/10 · 21 July 2019]

A great exploration into human nature when facing grief.

Had so much potential

[saragentile-69333 · 5/10 · 9 May 2020]

I came across the movie because I saw a clip on Facebook. So I went ahead and rented it, hoping for the best. The story itself is a great idea. BUT it had so much potential to be more. The story between Holly and Shayne felt rushed. They chemistry was there but it didn't spill over. You definitely have to use your imagination to understand the underlying message on why she was invisible... more-so why she felt invisible. The movie could have been done better and I feel like they did an injustice to it.

Hidden gem...

[spenceralyce-81949 · 31 July 2019]

This movie is wonderful. Such a great message involved within too. They could have ruined it by trying to make it a hero based film, but the later they chose was more relatable and sensitive.

Cool concept

[corabelch · 6/10 · 13 November 2020]

What a great concept! Invisible girl navigates the world, seen by no one, until suddenly one day... a totally hot bouncer at the club spots her. The setup of the movie really is the strongest. It loses a bit of steam as a romance and an MMA story (he's a fighter). But I was engaged enough in the heroine's journey to stay with it and find out what her resolution would be.

High Concept Romance

[mycannonball · 7/10 · 16 November 2021]

It's part romance part fantasy/sci fi. I thought it succeeded better on the fantasy front, as the romance was a bit lukewarm. Interesting story premise of a woman who's become invisible and has no idea why - until finally one guy can actually see her. How does she regain her visibility for everyone though? A decent indie flick.

Not a Martial Arts movie, but good !

[destroyerwod · 7/10 · 8 November 2021]

This movie is really not a Martial Arts movie. There is a few fight scenes yes, they are decently filmed and all, but there is very few of them and they are clearly not the focus of the movie.

Its more like a romance and story movie. At that i think it succeed. It got me interested all of the duration. Its a movie you can watch with your girlfriend anytime and she will surely love it too.

Its a short review i know but i don't know what else to say, i personally have a thing for these kind of romance, i know its not for everybody and if you were looking for an action movie, you clearly could be disapointing. Just don't expect that.

dumb romance for young ladies

[FeastMode · 3/10 · 28 November 2019]

I definitely should not have watched this. i am guessing i started the trailer, was intrigued by the premise, and stopped the trailer before it got to the super heavy romance. it wasn't super cheesy which was nice. but it wasn't good either. and there was some really dumb stuff that made no sense. i enjoyed some of it, almost gave it a 4 til the dumbest thing in the movie happened. (1 viewing 11/27/19)

SPOILERS

the final shot when the dad sees her. reminding us how little sense it makes that they forgot her, and even less that they now remember her. DUMB

Refreshingly different

[stefan-526-296130 · 8/10 · 27 July 2019]

One of the six rated movies that you should not miss. Solid story line and very good energy between the actors.

Reeding some reviews: If you need total logic in a movie that deals with invisible people, please do not watch. Logical enough for me.

Most underrated movie

[r-djinn · 7/10 · 20 July 2019]

I really enjoyed this movie. Pretty good story and good ending. Megan Fox is not even a big part of this movies she sux anyway. Olivas (Holly) acting was pretty good, must watch to understand. IMDB rating for most part is same rating as I give but this one is really off.

I understood the symbolism, but still didn't like the movie

[artsycutie · 3/10 · 27 December 2020]

I liked the whole lesson of this movie.. which was when the protagonist found out that she wasn't the only one who was alone, and the whole time she was only thinking for herself, and not others. But I feel like this was a missed opportunity because of the romance storyline. I felt like it was a bit overly dramatic, which I was fine with, but the character for the guy just annoyed me way too much. I understand that the point of the movie is about the underlying metaphor about helping others, but the movie itself didn't really reel me in, despite the amazing acting. The symbolism is quite clever, but the way it was delivered through the romance plot made it so boring to watch, turning it into some teen romance flick. But I would say that this movie is quite good in a way that it was relatable. A lot of us feel alone, and we think about why we are the way we are all the time, so it was easy to relate with her. I was a bit disappointed with the movie but I did enjoy some parts of it.

Highly underrated film, refreshingly different.

[rwgilmore24 · 9/10 · 22 July 2019]

Using the Sci-Fi premise of her not being seen was just a vehicle for this movie. The acting was good, the human element off the scale and the feeling potent and heartwarming. A nice change, I will recommend it.

See through

[kosmasp · 7/10 · 12 December 2021]

We can connect with not being seen. Of course for us it is not meant to be literal. We like either for certain people to see us or a general being not just taken for granted by everyone. Having said that, you have to cut the movie a lot of slack and really suspend your disbelief - as much as possible. But because the movie never really explains the "phenomenon", maybe questions like "shouldn't her clothes be visible" and the whole her actually being physically there ... can be left alone.

But again, if you have issues leaving things like that behind you - or if they bug you ... it may not be the best idea to watch the movie. Now leaving all that behind - the movie is an entertaining watch and has quite a few nice things to say. Of course you'll have a love story added to the philosophical aspect of "to be or not to be".

Good performances by everyone involved. Was a bit surprised to see Megan Fox in this one ... especially in a smaller role. But always good to see her - pun intended.

Some of the corniest crap you'll watch all year

[confrank · 2/10 · 9 May 2020]

Came for Thad Castle and MMA fighting, stayed for the absolute tire fire of a story, direction and dialogue dedicated to every whiny middle child of the world. Takes itself WAY too seriously and has no self-awareness whatsoever.

Overall..

[ts-0000 · 30 July 2023]

I did enjoy this movie but need to mention what could be considered plotholes,clichés or just bad in general.

Will start with the general message this movie sends,if you only care about yourself you will disappear.. Now in general that would be a great message but considering she was a adolescent,when her mom died and still was learning who she was & all those years needing to be self-sufficient & so forth.. Give me a break!

Also during the dinner scene with mom,it seemed Holly was always overlooked.. Thank goodness for mom,actually.

The older sister & brother didn't seem to acknowledge the mom either,because we don't see any real scenes of them trying to connect & mom only favoring Holly.

Also once she disappears how can all her memories fade by her family,wasn't like she died or went back in time.

There was a scene where her sister being basically narcissistic like in her teens after her pregnancy got revealed to her guy,saying she always felt basically overlooked because she wasn't a favorite child & so forth.. Well,it didn't seem like her brother she was talking about.

Again.. what a huge load of guilty burden to make Holly feel,again she was a kid.

Than we go through the struggles with the other family members,where again she's made to feel burden for not understanding what her dad was dealing with.

Remember during all these self-descoveries made,not once does any family or friends ever mention her.. which would be logical,if not for the last scene where after she appears & goes to see dad the way he responded-I have other theories regarding that,but can we say plotholes in logic.

Speaking of logic- how did she rent an apartment or cash checks and so forth,not everything in life can be done without human contact.. Let's also ponder was her clothes or cell phone,invisible or just overlooked as they moved about? Lol.

Aren't pets good at picking up things humans can't see? Like with Shaynes dog,unless it was because she wasn't dead.

It is worth seeing,if you don't actually over think it.

Maybe she went through it all to help and find her love she was destined with Shayne but rather sad considering all she missed prior to him only seeing her after years of loneliness.

A reviewer mentioned why didn't she do good,with being invisible? Like stopping terrorism,um.. She was a kid & was able to be hurt,not like she became a superhero as a young adult.

Was cast & acted decent with good cinematography.

It was wrongly marketed as a Sci Fi, Supernatural or Super Hero Movie

[Jakealope · 7/10 · 9 January 2023]

But it was a decent emotionally centered movie about being literally unnoticed. Of course Holly was the 12 yo middle child in her family and after her mother died her family just withdrew but she literally became invisible to everyone. I mean of course it is just an exaggeration on how many young women feel and the movie made no attempt to do any "Invisible Man" special effects. Adult Holly, played by Olivia Thirlby, makes the most of her virtual invisibility by being a tabloid stringer snooping around and taking compromising picture of celebs and reporting on their peccadilloes. She sneaks into her editor's office, which is easy since she's invisible then does a text message dialog with him, played by the ever weird David Johannsen with invisible her sitting across him as he vocalizes his reaction to her texts. She repeats variations of this trick in a number of situations. But because of her invisibility she is unconnected and unhappy. Then she gets stopped and thrown out of a seedy club by an ex MMA fighter bouncer who saw her trailing her latest celebrity prey. See Shane was a big wheel fighter in the MMA world until one of her sneak pictures of him cheating on his movie star wife, played by Megan Fox of course, led to him spiraling downhill. So she learns that he is the ticket to her re-entry into the world of the noticed as when he touches her, she gets photographed. She eggs on his return to championship and becomes his lover too. There are some up ands downs as she learns from Shane that she needs to reach out more to other people starting with her family where she kicks a pretty young woman to the ground invisibly of course so her weird introverted brother would come out of his basement hideout and help then fall for her. The movie ended up with a sappy sentimental happy ending which is okay in these days of bummer tragic and gory movie endings.

What an odd movie

[dmyourczek · 7/10 · 10 October 2023]

This movie is just odd. But if you dive in and just go with the flow, it's actually an alright watch. Thank goodness for Alan Ritchson and Olivia Thirlby, because I don't think anyone else could have made this movie quite as watchable as those two. Although I can't say much about their chemistry, each one gives a superb story performance individually. Ritchson's acting at times can be a little one note, but lucky for us it works, especially in a role like this one. Jim Gaffigan and Megan Fox are not in much of the movie, and likely only included to have some star power names attached to it. This movie won't be on my favorites list, but glad I gave it a watch.

It Could Have Been Great

[joneong · 6/10 · 23 July 2019]

It should have been better, the idea was a great one but the execution was pretty flat. Not a terrible watch but not a great one.

Interesting storyline the rest is meh

[adinamiz · 5/10 · 25 April 2020]

Acting and dialogue is seriously lacking. The storyline has potential.

Small, quiet fantasy with quite a punch

[jmbovan-47-160173 · 8/10 · 18 January 2021]

This movie has a whimsical but sorrowful narrative: a woman is invisible to the world. It isn't science fiction but fantasy and fairy tale. The poignancy of the story is highly relevant as we move out of 2020 into 2021, our past year of quarantine, and being ghosts in our lives.

Whatever Happened to "Celebrity Poker Rodeo"?

[merridew-2 · 6/10 · 31 March 2021]

I get this movie. I understand the ultimate message. It's presented a bit melodramatically, but that may be what the genre demanded. And I've long been a fan of Olivia Thirlby, ever since "Juno" and "5 to 7." However, I'm puzzled by a scene that was set up perfectly, but never shown.

So Holly meets Shayne, who is naturally skeptical of her supposed invisibility. Together they meet Shayne's manager, who tells Shayne that he's secured him a TV booking for "Celebrity Poker Rodeo," where he would play poker before a live audience.

Is there any better way for Holly to prove her value to Shayne than as an invisible accomplice at a poker tournament? The scene practically writes itself. The moment was teed up and ready to go.

But if Shayne ever does appear on "Celebrity Poker Rodeo," we don't see it. What a lost opportunity.

Was this perfect setup purely a coincidence? Or was something later deleted? Claudia?

Very predictable

[natashamasters · 4/10 · 6 April 2023]

I watched this after seeing some TikTok shorts as they were very entertaining but I must admit about half way through I was literally falling asleep. I found that I could pretty much guess what was happening next as it's like so many other love movies, there wasn't a single moment where I went "oh I didn't expect that". I also found the acting quite flat in places but then really good in other parts. Wasn't consistent at all.

There also wasn't really a reason as to why she was invisible. Yes there was a tragedy but it's pretty far fetched to believe she became invisible and forgotten to her family. Also why could that one person see her? What made him different to the rest of the world. It's because he's troubled too? If it's literally because they have suffered a loss of something then no one would be able to see anyone ever as everyone has lost something.

I'm not entirely sure why this movie has so many good reviews, maybe I completely missed something. I thought it was make believe love story. I wouldn't recommend.

Did the other reviewers actually understand the movie?

[pediatricgrime · 9/10 · 21 July 2019]

This is not a superhero movie! She did not get an ability! Use your imagination and just enjoy the story. Consider what she says instead of focus on what you think she should do with powers! I know a lot of you would rob a bank or sneak in on naked girls if you were invisible. But please, leave that behind. OK?

And also, he's not a kickboxer. That is called MMA.

Ok but a bit dull

[stemelia21 · 6/10 · 27 December 2019]

Right ok I understood the whole film and the underlying symbolic/metaphor meaning but it was just dull. I watched it with my wife who likes these kind of films and she also said the same.

That is the only problem with these types of films, their clever and meaningful but that's all they have got which makes them boring, perhaps what they should have done is make the Male lead a vampire instead of a UFC fighter and it would have been more interesting from a film perspective, that's why twilight was so successful.

That being said it's still worth a watch, it remains at 6/10 and I think I'm being nice. Any ratings which are higher your being a bit foolish, some people have rated it at 9/10...... come on it's no where near in the same categories as some of the greatest films ever made.

Truly a missed opportunity.

[LordCommandar · 1/10 · 20 July 2019]

So you have the ability of invisibility and you don't use it for the greater good of mankind, like helpinng to prevent terrorist attacks, working with the DEA to stop major drug cartels or even being like a invisible vigilante exciting judgement on serial killers, parents abusing their children or husbands who beat on their wives? No this story insults my intelligence with a invisible chick whos only goal is work for tabloid paper and get involved with only guy who can see her who just happens to be a kickboxer. This is the best writers could conjure up for an invisibility story? How idiotic. Memoirs of an Invisible man with Chevy Chase had a much better concept than nonsensical approach. But what more could expect from a film, with a cast that includes nobody Megan Fox. Truly this is what dumb down writing looks like....Smh