In Paul Verhoeven's appropriately shallow Hollow Man, Kevin Bacon plays a bad-boy egotistical scientist who heads up a double-secret government team experimenting with turning life-forms invisible. How do we know he's a ba... more »d boy? Because he (a) wears a leather overcoat, (b) compares himself to God, (c) drives a sports car, and (d) spies on his comely next-door neighbor while eating Twinkies. Sadly, this is the most character development anyone gets in this undernourished action/sci-fi thriller, which boasts some amazing special effects and some amazingly ridiculous plot twists. After experimenting rather ruthlessly on a menagerie of lab animals, Bacon finally cracks the code that will turn the invisible gorillas, dogs, and so on, back into their visible forms. Does it work on humans? Faster than you can say "six degrees," Mr. Bacon appoints himself human guinea pig, strapping down for an injection of fluorescent-colored serum. Thanks to some phenomenal, seamless and Oscar-worthy computer effects, Bacon is indeed rendered invisible, organ by organ, vein by vein. And what's the first thing you'd do if you were invisible? Why, spy on your female coworkers in the bathroom and molest your comely next-door neighbor, of course! Soon, Bacon is thoroughly psychotic, and it's up to Elisabeth Shue (Bacon's coworker and ex-girlfriend) and hunky Josh Brolin (her current snuggle bunny) to defeat the invisible man, who's picking off the science team one by one. You'd think this would be a prime opportunity for copious amounts of cheesy sex and aggressive violence--which Verhoeven served up so well and so exuberantly in Starship Troopers and Basic Instinct--but if anything, the director seems to tone down the proceedings, and really, who wants a muted Paul Verhoeven movie? Shue (who got top billing and a bad haircut to boot) and Brolin (who, yes, does take off his shirt at least once) generate little heat, and while Bacon does give an effective, primarily voice-oriented performance, his character is so underdeveloped that, well, you can see right through him. --Mark Englehart« less
Solid sci-fi horror thriller with Elisabeth Shue, Kevin Bacon, Josh Brolin and others shining. A must watch!
Movie Reviews
Don't buy this thing
Dr. Christopher Coleman | HONG KONG | 11/07/2000
(1 out of 5 stars)
"So the special effects were pretty good. Who cares? Go hang out in a morgue or sit in on an anatomy class and see the real thing. The plot of this sad effort is moronic--why any of the characters do what they do is inexplicable, and why they don't use their heads and *think* about what to do is ONLY because the writers and director didn't CARE enough to come up with a plot. I mean, seriously, you are smart enough to be working on a top secret research project with major government funds, but when your boss turns into an invisible homicidal maniac, it doesn't occur to you to always wear the special glasses which allow you to see him? This kind of inanity pervades the movie. And why this bothered me so much, I'm not quite sure--but when they make a latex mask for Kevin Bacon, they don't bother to cut holes in it for his nostrils! If you've ever worn a diving mask, you'd know how humid and uncomfortable that would be within seconds. In fact, I've had my face cast, and they put straws in my nose so that I could BREATHE DURING THE PROCEDURE! So there were holes in the mask from the very beginning. It's this carelessness that drives me to distraction--if you are going to put millions of dollars into a film, why not really THINK about it, instead of insulting our intelligence? Believe me, it is not worth missing 112 minutes of your life, and whatever this costs you financially, to see the few minutes of special effects that are the only redeeming quality to this film. Go buy a Fangoria instead--hey, then you can look at the effects in detail. Or get to that anatomy class."
I feel dumber for watching this movie
cthoms | 11/06/2000
(1 out of 5 stars)
"Ok, so I went out on a limb. I actually took time out of my life to pay money at a theatre and watch this movie.Oops.Yeah, like many other people will say, the movie does have dazzling special effects. Unfortunately, the acting is worse than terrible. It just downright sucks.Also... Hello? Plot? Are you in there? I didn't think so.I know what you all are thinking. And I know, it was my choice to go and see it. But, that doesn't mean that those that haven't should suffer too.Heed my warning! If you haven't seen this movie, you are already one step ahead of the rest of us. Don't stoop down to our level. Move forward in life and onto other, better movies."
If only the movie itself was invisible
cthoms | West Chatham, MA | 03/19/2001
(1 out of 5 stars)
"This movie not only had an invisible man, but it also had some invisible plot connections. I'll just use the end of the movie as an example. Okay, so somehow hot scientist chick(Elisabeth Shue), is hot enough so that her hotness can counteract -40 degree temperatures. In these conditions she manages to create an electromagnet to escape her certain doom. Somehow in these ridiculously cold environment she is able to open the door with her electromagnet. So following that issue flesh wound scientist man(Josh Brolin) is able to recover from being stabbed with an oversized crow bar and frozen for five minutes to eventually whack the invisible Kevin Bacon with the very same crowbar. Then Kevin Bacon turns into skeletal muscle man after another attack with the infamous crowbar is thwarted.After this hot scientist chick and flesh wound scientist man run to the elevator shaft in an attempt to escape their inevitable fate in the exploding lab. As they climb to the top, somehow the flying elevator of doom manages to zoom past them, propelled by the explosion in the laboratory below. Then as the elevator falls victim to that pesky force of gravity, it somehow stops just above their heads. Shortly after this skeletal muscle Bacon has not only managed to survive an attack with the infamous crowbar, the giant lab explosion, and the flying elevator of doom, but in doing so has managed to climb undetected onto the back of hot scientist chick, who seduces him with a last kiss before she sends him plummeting down the elevator shaft into the exploding lab. Then as she falls into the arms of flesh wound scientist man, he exclaims, "Oh my god!" To which she replies, "Not anymore." Based on the whole premise that Kevin Bacon is God. Which might offer some sort of explanation of that six degree thing, but really offers no explanation of this ridiculous movie."
What a total waste of film
Zac Helman | 01/28/2001
(1 out of 5 stars)
"This flick started out promising, but quickly spiraled downward, transforming into a predictable load of trash. Amazing special effects couldn't save this movie from a bad plot and a horrible ending."
Could've been better
Zac Helman | australia | 12/17/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This director's cut pretty much contains all of the deleted scenes from the previous edition with only a few other scenes added in.
They could've included the two commentaries from the other dvd.
I would've liked to see some more new footage as opposed to seeing the old deleted scenes."