Invisible Sue (2018)

Directed by: Markus Dietrich | 90 minutes | adventure, fantasy, family | Actors: Ruby M. Lichtenberg, Anna Shirin Habedank, Lui Eckhardt, Victoria Mayer, Luc Schiltz, Jeanne Werner, Patrick Hastert, Lotte Tscharntke, Tatja Seibt, Lina Isabel Sturm, Stephanie Stremler, Catherine Janke, Roland Gelhausen

Sue is a quiet teenager who, like many of her peers, prefers to go through life inconspicuously. She has no friends, and her home situation is not optimal either. Her mother, a famous scientist who makes groundbreaking inventions, hardly has time for her. She has a much better relationship with her father, but he is often on tour with his band. Fortunately, Sue has her comics, from which she draws strength.

When Sue and her father – against their better judgment – ​​want to surprise her mother at work, they are not exactly thanked. Mother is busy with an important presentation and the somewhat awkward malfunction (and disastrous consequences) comes just at the wrong time. Worse yet, Sue is injured in an explosion in the lab. The next day she notices the unbelievable consequences of this. She can become invisible! What follows is an exciting adventure as Sue makes friends and enemies and learns to use her newfound abilities.

‘Invisible Sue’ is a German/Luxembourg production (which will be released in the Netherlands in the dubbed version). The film is very reminiscent of ‘Antboy’, only now it is a girl who is given superhero powers and it is a girl (Kaya, nickname App) in the role of a technically highly skilled sidekick. Another difference with the ‘Antboy’ films is that the film has a less comic book-like sauce, this film has a much more serious tone and is aimed at a slightly older audience. The fact that it remains unclear for a long time who can actually be trusted and who cannot, makes it just a bit more exciting. This gives the film a dark edge. What also plays a role is the setting, many scenes take place in industrial environments, the school where Sue attends seems to be in the middle of Echternach in Luxembourg – as does the beautiful castle where App lives with her aunt. Unfortunately, the plot is also unnecessarily complicated, with stakeholders popping up all of a sudden and not adding much to the story.

Due to the visual and technical effects, ‘Invisible Sue’ also seems like an ode to ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Back to the Future’, Sue has a holographic assistant with AI qualities and App installs a Flux Compensator on a cargo bike, to provide special powers. In that respect ‘Invisible Sue’ certainly convinces, and clever use is made of the budget. It is a pity that the film falls short in terms of content, but the target group will not care about that. ‘Invisible Sue’ is a fun take on the superhero genre, with a main character that many young teens will recognize and empathize with.