Amazon.co.uk Review
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 bad 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 neighbour while eating Twinkies. Sadly, this is the most character development anyone gets in this undernourished action/sci-fi thriller, which boasts some phenomenal, seamless and Oscar-worthy computer 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, and promptly volunteers as a human guinea pig. Sure enough he is rendered invisible, organ by organ, vein by vein, and then proceeds to spy on his female co-workers in the bathroom and molest his comely next-door neighbour.
Soon, Bacon is thoroughly psychotic, and it's up to Elisabeth Shue (Bacon's co-worker 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? --Mark Englehart, Amazon.com
On the DVD: In the audio commentary with director Paul Verhoeven and star Kevin Bacon, Hollow Man scriptwriter Andrew Marlowe reveals that the story had been in development for some nine years before it got made, and that he had worked on it for "a number of years". An amazing revelation, given that the main attraction of this DVD is surely the cutting-edge special effects and the fascinating behind-the-scenes deconstruction of them. The DVD viewer cannot help but wonder how anyone could have spent years on a script that looks like it was cobbled together over a weekend as an excuse to play around with some really neat CGI effects. The various documentary features on the disc break down all the key FX scenes in exhaustive detail, showing the creative blend of live action and CGI and all the painstaking methods by which it was achieved. Director Verhoeven is appropriately profiled as "Hollywood's Mad Scientist" in the "Anatomy of a Thriller" featurette (in the commentary he makes a comparison with Hitchcock's Rear Window that only serves to underline the gulf between his ambitious vision and its execution). Elsewhere, legendary composer Jerry Goldsmith provides a commentary to his music, which gives hope to fans that he will now do the same for some of his better scores. There are deleted scenes, trailers, storyboards and a really neat menu interface to round off an enjoyable DVD package. Anamorphic picture and sound quality are impeccable. --Mark Walker
Amazon.co.uk
In Paul Verhoeven's 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 bad 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 neighbour while eating Twinkies. Sadly, this is the most character development anyone gets in this slightly undernourished action/sci-fi thriller, which does boast some amazing special effects along with 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-coloured 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 co-workers in the bathroom and molest your comely next-door neighbour, of course! Soon, Bacon is thoroughly psychotic, and it's up to Elisabeth Shue (Bacon's co-worker 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 haircu! t 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
Amazon.co.uk Review
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 bad 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 neighbour while eating Twinkies. Sadly, this is the most character development anyone gets in this undernourished action/sci-fi thriller, which boasts some phenomenal, seamless and Oscar-worthy computer 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, and promptly volunteers as a human guinea pig. Sure enough he is rendered invisible, organ by organ, vein by vein, and then proceeds to spy on his female co-workers in the bathroom and molest his comely next-door neighbour.
Soon, Bacon is thoroughly psychotic, and it's up to Elisabeth Shue (Bacon's co-worker 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? --Mark Englehart, Amazon.com
On the DVD: In the audio commentary with director Paul Verhoeven and star Kevin Bacon, Hollow Man scriptwriter Andrew Marlowe reveals that the story had been in development for some nine years before it got made, and that he had worked on it for "a number of years". An amazing revelation, given that the main attraction of this DVD is surely the cutting-edge special effects and the fascinating behind-the-scenes deconstruction of them. The DVD viewer cannot help but wonder how anyone could have spent years on a script that looks like it was cobbled together over a weekend as an excuse to play around with some really neat CGI effects. The various documentary features on the disc break down all the key FX scenes in exhaustive detail, showing the creative blend of live action and CGI and all the painstaking methods by which it was achieved. Director Verhoeven is appropriately profiled as "Hollywood's Mad Scientist" in the "Anatomy of a Thriller" featurette (in the commentary he makes a comparison with Hitchcock's Rear Window that only serves to underline the gulf between his ambitious vision and its execution). Elsewhere, legendary composer Jerry Goldsmith provides a commentary to his music, which gives hope to fans that he will now do the same for some of his better scores. There are deleted scenes, trailers, storyboards and a really neat menu interface to round off an enjoyable DVD package. Anamorphic picture and sound quality are impeccable. --Mark Walker
Customer Reviews:
Alternative version of the Invisible Man.......2007-12-23
Film is mainly about a group of scientists who design a chemical that can make people and animals Invisible which is what they test it on at the beginning of the film then they change to Sebastian Cain who offers to have a go and through out the film they have to find a way to reverse it to change him back, but when they try things start to change Cain becomes obsessed to use this technique on something more than just a joke it is more of a new Weaponry for Psycho killers! there are scenes of violence mainly half way through the film which is what makes it bit more appealing for people who are interested in horror films which is what this film is but overall it is good.
Frankly Wells did a zilllion times better.......2007-09-21
Modern science makes H.G. Wells's Invisible Man possible. Fine. It can only be performed in a lab due to the need of modern technology and necessary assistants and technicians. Fine. That getting invisible is traumatic, no one can doubt it. That it revives old desires, passions, jealousies and other negative feelings, is quite probable. That it gives the death instinct a new power, I don't doubt it one minute. But the film here does not get to any depth. It is superficial and only revolves around the special effects that make the body invisible. So the man is said to be hollow as if visibility was the only content a man could have, but this is superficial because visibility only concerns the surface. But the level of feeling and psyche the man is provided with is also very superficial. So the man is MADE hollow and the film is hollow. The end can only be death. And they call that a happy ending.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines
Special Effects attack Script!!!!.......2007-06-20
"Hollow Man" seems to improve on second viewing. Yes, it is formulaic. Yes, it is cheesy but for all that it is unabashedly entertaining. On its release it was quite a disappointment considering the talent involved. On reappraisal this film is far better than any action movie delivered by Hollywood since September 11th 2001.
Kevin Bacon is a huge talent and his performance is excellent given the limitations of the script and SFX process. Elisabeth Shue is also extremely engaging. The problem lies in the script. What needed to be explored more fully is the use of such an extreme talent. The guy is invisible. So what can he get up too? All he achieves is the molestation of the beautiful and talented Rhona Mitra. Kevin Bacon is portraying an eccentric genius. Can he not think of something more inventive than rape?
The direction is pretty pedestrian for Paul Verhoeven considering his remarkable talent in this field. "Hollow Man" is a continuation of Paul Verhoven's love affair with Special Effects. Unfortunately the SFX appear stagy and unsubtle. Some effects are very well done but not all of them.
The best effect is a simple one and proves Verhoeven as a master of the medium. Kevin Bacon leaves a celebratory dinner but we do not see him leave. Elisabeth Shue turns and is confronted with an empty chair. This simple device works remarkably well because it is rather creepy and unexpected. More moments of such simple imagination and ingenuity needed to be introduced into the proceedings rather that the complete reliance on computer effects. Less is more, as they say.
The DVD has an engrossing commentary by Kevin Bacon and the entertainingly astute Paul Verhoeven.
Distrubed perverts paradise!!!.......2006-08-18
This film should've only been sold in sex shops (yes it's that bad). Director Paul Verhoeven has one sick mind. The only good things about this film are the top notch SFX, and the tension, but not to mention Elizabeth Shue looking gorgeous.
The one scene that should of been deleted from the video/DVD, is the scene where Kevin Bacons character is invisible, and decides to take his anger out on an innocent lab dog by beating it sensless against it's cage(all because it was barking). Oh and do we really need to see Bacon's 'john thomas' on film, even if it was the insides of it.
Good actioner, if a bit twisted.
Oh dear!.......2006-03-09
Possibly the worst film I've seen in years, it was just one hollywood cliche after another, it even succeeded in pulling Kevin Bacon down to it's level.
Apart from the SFX which were stunning, this is one to miss.
Amazon.co.uk
In Paul Verhoeven's 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 bad 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 neighbour while eating Twinkies. Sadly, this is the most character development anyone gets in this slightly undernourished action/sci-fi thriller, which does boast some amazing special effects along with 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 co-workers in the bathroom and molest your comely next-door neighbour, of course! Soon, Bacon is thoroughly psychotic, and it's up to Elisabeth Shue (Bacon's co-worker 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
Amazon.co.uk Review
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 bad 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 neighbour while eating Twinkies. Sadly, this is the most character development anyone gets in this undernourished action/sci-fi thriller, which boasts some phenomenal, seamless and Oscar-worthy computer 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, and promptly volunteers as a human guinea pig. Sure enough he is rendered invisible, organ by organ, vein by vein, and then proceeds to spy on his female co-workers in the bathroom and molest his comely next-door neighbour.
Soon, Bacon is thoroughly psychotic, and it's up to Elisabeth Shue (Bacon's co-worker 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? --Mark Englehart, Amazon.com
On the DVD: In the audio commentary with director Paul Verhoeven and star Kevin Bacon, Hollow Man scriptwriter Andrew Marlowe reveals that the story had been in development for some nine years before it got made, and that he had worked on it for "a number of years". An amazing revelation, given that the main attraction of this DVD is surely the cutting-edge special effects and the fascinating behind-the-scenes deconstruction of them. The DVD viewer cannot help but wonder how anyone could have spent years on a script that looks like it was cobbled together over a weekend as an excuse to play around with some really neat CGI effects. The various documentary features on the disc break down all the key FX scenes in exhaustive detail, showing the creative blend of live action and CGI and all the painstaking methods by which it was achieved. Director Verhoeven is appropriately profiled as "Hollywood's Mad Scientist" in the "Anatomy of a Thriller" featurette (in the commentary he makes a comparison with Hitchcock's Rear Window that only serves to underline the gulf between his ambitious vision and its execution). Elsewhere, legendary composer Jerry Goldsmith provides a commentary to his music, which gives hope to fans that he will now do the same for some of his better scores. There are deleted scenes, trailers, storyboards and a really neat menu interface to round off an enjoyable DVD package. Anamorphic picture and sound quality are impeccable. --Mark Walker
Customer Reviews:
Alternative version of the Invisible Man.......2007-12-23
Film is mainly about a group of scientists who design a chemical that can make people and animals Invisible which is what they test it on at the beginning of the film then they change to Sebastian Cain who offers to have a go and through out the film they have to find a way to reverse it to change him back, but when they try things start to change Cain becomes obsessed to use this technique on something more than just a joke it is more of a new Weaponry for Psycho killers! there are scenes of violence mainly half way through the film which is what makes it bit more appealing for people who are interested in horror films which is what this film is but overall it is good.
Frankly Wells did a zilllion times better.......2007-09-21
Modern science makes H.G. Wells's Invisible Man possible. Fine. It can only be performed in a lab due to the need of modern technology and necessary assistants and technicians. Fine. That getting invisible is traumatic, no one can doubt it. That it revives old desires, passions, jealousies and other negative feelings, is quite probable. That it gives the death instinct a new power, I don't doubt it one minute. But the film here does not get to any depth. It is superficial and only revolves around the special effects that make the body invisible. So the man is said to be hollow as if visibility was the only content a man could have, but this is superficial because visibility only concerns the surface. But the level of feeling and psyche the man is provided with is also very superficial. So the man is MADE hollow and the film is hollow. The end can only be death. And they call that a happy ending.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines
Special Effects attack Script!!!!.......2007-06-20
"Hollow Man" seems to improve on second viewing. Yes, it is formulaic. Yes, it is cheesy but for all that it is unabashedly entertaining. On its release it was quite a disappointment considering the talent involved. On reappraisal this film is far better than any action movie delivered by Hollywood since September 11th 2001.
Kevin Bacon is a huge talent and his performance is excellent given the limitations of the script and SFX process. Elisabeth Shue is also extremely engaging. The problem lies in the script. What needed to be explored more fully is the use of such an extreme talent. The guy is invisible. So what can he get up too? All he achieves is the molestation of the beautiful and talented Rhona Mitra. Kevin Bacon is portraying an eccentric genius. Can he not think of something more inventive than rape?
The direction is pretty pedestrian for Paul Verhoeven considering his remarkable talent in this field. "Hollow Man" is a continuation of Paul Verhoven's love affair with Special Effects. Unfortunately the SFX appear stagy and unsubtle. Some effects are very well done but not all of them.
The best effect is a simple one and proves Verhoeven as a master of the medium. Kevin Bacon leaves a celebratory dinner but we do not see him leave. Elisabeth Shue turns and is confronted with an empty chair. This simple device works remarkably well because it is rather creepy and unexpected. More moments of such simple imagination and ingenuity needed to be introduced into the proceedings rather that the complete reliance on computer effects. Less is more, as they say.
The DVD has an engrossing commentary by Kevin Bacon and the entertainingly astute Paul Verhoeven.
Distrubed perverts paradise!!!.......2006-08-18
This film should've only been sold in sex shops (yes it's that bad). Director Paul Verhoeven has one sick mind. The only good things about this film are the top notch SFX, and the tension, but not to mention Elizabeth Shue looking gorgeous.
The one scene that should of been deleted from the video/DVD, is the scene where Kevin Bacons character is invisible, and decides to take his anger out on an innocent lab dog by beating it sensless against it's cage(all because it was barking). Oh and do we really need to see Bacon's 'john thomas' on film, even if it was the insides of it.
Good actioner, if a bit twisted.
Oh dear!.......2006-03-09
Possibly the worst film I've seen in years, it was just one hollywood cliche after another, it even succeeded in pulling Kevin Bacon down to it's level.
Apart from the SFX which were stunning, this is one to miss.
Amazon.co.uk Review
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 bad 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 neighbour while eating Twinkies. Sadly, this is the most character development anyone gets in this undernourished action/sci-fi thriller, which boasts some phenomenal, seamless and Oscar-worthy computer 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, and promptly volunteers as a human guinea pig. Sure enough he is rendered invisible, organ by organ, vein by vein, and then proceeds to spy on his female co-workers in the bathroom and molest his comely next-door neighbour.
Soon, Bacon is thoroughly psychotic, and it's up to Elisabeth Shue (Bacon's co-worker 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? --Mark Englehart, Amazon.com
On the DVD: In the audio commentary with director Paul Verhoeven and star Kevin Bacon, Hollow Man scriptwriter Andrew Marlowe reveals that the story had been in development for some nine years before it got made, and that he had worked on it for "a number of years". An amazing revelation, given that the main attraction of this DVD is surely the cutting-edge special effects and the fascinating behind-the-scenes deconstruction of them. The DVD viewer cannot help but wonder how anyone could have spent years on a script that looks like it was cobbled together over a weekend as an excuse to play around with some really neat CGI effects. The various documentary features on the disc break down all the key FX scenes in exhaustive detail, showing the creative blend of live action and CGI and all the painstaking methods by which it was achieved. Director Verhoeven is appropriately profiled as "Hollywood's Mad Scientist" in the "Anatomy of a Thriller" featurette (in the commentary he makes a comparison with Hitchcock's Rear Window that only serves to underline the gulf between his ambitious vision and its execution). Elsewhere, legendary composer Jerry Goldsmith provides a commentary to his music, which gives hope to fans that he will now do the same for some of his better scores. There are deleted scenes, trailers, storyboards and a really neat menu interface to round off an enjoyable DVD package. Anamorphic picture and sound quality are impeccable. --Mark Walker
Customer Reviews:
Alternative version of the Invisible Man.......2007-12-23
Film is mainly about a group of scientists who design a chemical that can make people and animals Invisible which is what they test it on at the beginning of the film then they change to Sebastian Cain who offers to have a go and through out the film they have to find a way to reverse it to change him back, but when they try things start to change Cain becomes obsessed to use this technique on something more than just a joke it is more of a new Weaponry for Psycho killers! there are scenes of violence mainly half way through the film which is what makes it bit more appealing for people who are interested in horror films which is what this film is but overall it is good.
Frankly Wells did a zilllion times better.......2007-09-21
Modern science makes H.G. Wells's Invisible Man possible. Fine. It can only be performed in a lab due to the need of modern technology and necessary assistants and technicians. Fine. That getting invisible is traumatic, no one can doubt it. That it revives old desires, passions, jealousies and other negative feelings, is quite probable. That it gives the death instinct a new power, I don't doubt it one minute. But the film here does not get to any depth. It is superficial and only revolves around the special effects that make the body invisible. So the man is said to be hollow as if visibility was the only content a man could have, but this is superficial because visibility only concerns the surface. But the level of feeling and psyche the man is provided with is also very superficial. So the man is MADE hollow and the film is hollow. The end can only be death. And they call that a happy ending.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines
Special Effects attack Script!!!!.......2007-06-20
"Hollow Man" seems to improve on second viewing. Yes, it is formulaic. Yes, it is cheesy but for all that it is unabashedly entertaining. On its release it was quite a disappointment considering the talent involved. On reappraisal this film is far better than any action movie delivered by Hollywood since September 11th 2001.
Kevin Bacon is a huge talent and his performance is excellent given the limitations of the script and SFX process. Elisabeth Shue is also extremely engaging. The problem lies in the script. What needed to be explored more fully is the use of such an extreme talent. The guy is invisible. So what can he get up too? All he achieves is the molestation of the beautiful and talented Rhona Mitra. Kevin Bacon is portraying an eccentric genius. Can he not think of something more inventive than rape?
The direction is pretty pedestrian for Paul Verhoeven considering his remarkable talent in this field. "Hollow Man" is a continuation of Paul Verhoven's love affair with Special Effects. Unfortunately the SFX appear stagy and unsubtle. Some effects are very well done but not all of them.
The best effect is a simple one and proves Verhoeven as a master of the medium. Kevin Bacon leaves a celebratory dinner but we do not see him leave. Elisabeth Shue turns and is confronted with an empty chair. This simple device works remarkably well because it is rather creepy and unexpected. More moments of such simple imagination and ingenuity needed to be introduced into the proceedings rather that the complete reliance on computer effects. Less is more, as they say.
The DVD has an engrossing commentary by Kevin Bacon and the entertainingly astute Paul Verhoeven.
Distrubed perverts paradise!!!.......2006-08-18
This film should've only been sold in sex shops (yes it's that bad). Director Paul Verhoeven has one sick mind. The only good things about this film are the top notch SFX, and the tension, but not to mention Elizabeth Shue looking gorgeous.
The one scene that should of been deleted from the video/DVD, is the scene where Kevin Bacons character is invisible, and decides to take his anger out on an innocent lab dog by beating it sensless against it's cage(all because it was barking). Oh and do we really need to see Bacon's 'john thomas' on film, even if it was the insides of it.
Good actioner, if a bit twisted.
Oh dear!.......2006-03-09
Possibly the worst film I've seen in years, it was just one hollywood cliche after another, it even succeeded in pulling Kevin Bacon down to it's level.
Apart from the SFX which were stunning, this is one to miss.
Amazon.co.uk Review
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 bad 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 neighbour while eating Twinkies. Sadly, this is the most character development anyone gets in this undernourished action/sci-fi thriller, which boasts some phenomenal, seamless and Oscar-worthy computer 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, and promptly volunteers as a human guinea pig. Sure enough he is rendered invisible, organ by organ, vein by vein, and then proceeds to spy on his female co-workers in the bathroom and molest his comely next-door neighbour.
Soon, Bacon is thoroughly psychotic, and it's up to Elisabeth Shue (Bacon's co-worker 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? --Mark Englehart, Amazon.com
On the DVD: In the audio commentary with director Paul Verhoeven and star Kevin Bacon, Hollow Man scriptwriter Andrew Marlowe reveals that the story had been in development for some nine years before it got made, and that he had worked on it for "a number of years". An amazing revelation, given that the main attraction of this DVD is surely the cutting-edge special effects and the fascinating behind-the-scenes deconstruction of them. The DVD viewer cannot help but wonder how anyone could have spent years on a script that looks like it was cobbled together over a weekend as an excuse to play around with some really neat CGI effects. The various documentary features on the disc break down all the key FX scenes in exhaustive detail, showing the creative blend of live action and CGI and all the painstaking methods by which it was achieved. Director Verhoeven is appropriately profiled as "Hollywood's Mad Scientist" in the "Anatomy of a Thriller" featurette (in the commentary he makes a comparison with Hitchcock's Rear Window that only serves to underline the gulf between his ambitious vision and its execution). Elsewhere, legendary composer Jerry Goldsmith provides a commentary to his music, which gives hope to fans that he will now do the same for some of his better scores. There are deleted scenes, trailers, storyboards and a really neat menu interface to round off an enjoyable DVD package. Anamorphic picture and sound quality are impeccable. --Mark Walker
Amazon.co.uk Review
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 bad 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 neighbour while eating Twinkies. Sadly, this is the most character development anyone gets in this undernourished action/sci-fi thriller, which boasts some phenomenal, seamless and Oscar-worthy computer 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, and promptly volunteers as a human guinea pig. Sure enough he is rendered invisible, organ by organ, vein by vein, and then proceeds to spy on his female co-workers in the bathroom and molest his comely next-door neighbour.
Soon, Bacon is thoroughly psychotic, and it's up to Elisabeth Shue (Bacon's co-worker 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? --Mark Englehart, Amazon.com
On the DVD: In the audio commentary with director Paul Verhoeven and star Kevin Bacon, Hollow Man scriptwriter Andrew Marlowe reveals that the story had been in development for some nine years before it got made, and that he had worked on it for "a number of years". An amazing revelation, given that the main attraction of this DVD is surely the cutting-edge special effects and the fascinating behind-the-scenes deconstruction of them. The DVD viewer cannot help but wonder how anyone could have spent years on a script that looks like it was cobbled together over a weekend as an excuse to play around with some really neat CGI effects. The various documentary features on the disc break down all the key FX scenes in exhaustive detail, showing the creative blend of live action and CGI and all the painstaking methods by which it was achieved. Director Verhoeven is appropriately profiled as "Hollywood's Mad Scientist" in the "Anatomy of a Thriller" featurette (in the commentary he makes a comparison with Hitchcock's Rear Window that only serves to underline the gulf between his ambitious vision and its execution). Elsewhere, legendary composer Jerry Goldsmith provides a commentary to his music, which gives hope to fans that he will now do the same for some of his better scores. There are deleted scenes, trailers, storyboards and a really neat menu interface to round off an enjoyable DVD package. Anamorphic picture and sound quality are impeccable. --Mark Walker
Customer Reviews:
Alternative version of the Invisible Man.......2007-12-23
Film is mainly about a group of scientists who design a chemical that can make people and animals Invisible which is what they test it on at the beginning of the film then they change to Sebastian Cain who offers to have a go and through out the film they have to find a way to reverse it to change him back, but when they try things start to change Cain becomes obsessed to use this technique on something more than just a joke it is more of a new Weaponry for Psycho killers! there are scenes of violence mainly half way through the film which is what makes it bit more appealing for people who are interested in horror films which is what this film is but overall it is good.
Frankly Wells did a zilllion times better.......2007-09-21
Modern science makes H.G. Wells's Invisible Man possible. Fine. It can only be performed in a lab due to the need of modern technology and necessary assistants and technicians. Fine. That getting invisible is traumatic, no one can doubt it. That it revives old desires, passions, jealousies and other negative feelings, is quite probable. That it gives the death instinct a new power, I don't doubt it one minute. But the film here does not get to any depth. It is superficial and only revolves around the special effects that make the body invisible. So the man is said to be hollow as if visibility was the only content a man could have, but this is superficial because visibility only concerns the surface. But the level of feeling and psyche the man is provided with is also very superficial. So the man is MADE hollow and the film is hollow. The end can only be death. And they call that a happy ending.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines
Special Effects attack Script!!!!.......2007-06-20
"Hollow Man" seems to improve on second viewing. Yes, it is formulaic. Yes, it is cheesy but for all that it is unabashedly entertaining. On its release it was quite a disappointment considering the talent involved. On reappraisal this film is far better than any action movie delivered by Hollywood since September 11th 2001.
Kevin Bacon is a huge talent and his performance is excellent given the limitations of the script and SFX process. Elisabeth Shue is also extremely engaging. The problem lies in the script. What needed to be explored more fully is the use of such an extreme talent. The guy is invisible. So what can he get up too? All he achieves is the molestation of the beautiful and talented Rhona Mitra. Kevin Bacon is portraying an eccentric genius. Can he not think of something more inventive than rape?
The direction is pretty pedestrian for Paul Verhoeven considering his remarkable talent in this field. "Hollow Man" is a continuation of Paul Verhoven's love affair with Special Effects. Unfortunately the SFX appear stagy and unsubtle. Some effects are very well done but not all of them.
The best effect is a simple one and proves Verhoeven as a master of the medium. Kevin Bacon leaves a celebratory dinner but we do not see him leave. Elisabeth Shue turns and is confronted with an empty chair. This simple device works remarkably well because it is rather creepy and unexpected. More moments of such simple imagination and ingenuity needed to be introduced into the proceedings rather that the complete reliance on computer effects. Less is more, as they say.
The DVD has an engrossing commentary by Kevin Bacon and the entertainingly astute Paul Verhoeven.
Distrubed perverts paradise!!!.......2006-08-18
This film should've only been sold in sex shops (yes it's that bad). Director Paul Verhoeven has one sick mind. The only good things about this film are the top notch SFX, and the tension, but not to mention Elizabeth Shue looking gorgeous.
The one scene that should of been deleted from the video/DVD, is the scene where Kevin Bacons character is invisible, and decides to take his anger out on an innocent lab dog by beating it sensless against it's cage(all because it was barking). Oh and do we really need to see Bacon's 'john thomas' on film, even if it was the insides of it.
Good actioner, if a bit twisted.
Oh dear!.......2006-03-09
Possibly the worst film I've seen in years, it was just one hollywood cliche after another, it even succeeded in pulling Kevin Bacon down to it's level.
Apart from the SFX which were stunning, this is one to miss.
UK DVD:
- How the West Was Won [1962] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- In the Mouth of Madness [1995] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- I Spit On Your Grave [1978]
- Ju-On - The Grudge [2003]
- Lake Placid 2 [2007]
- Lifeforce [1985]
- Masters Of Horror - Series 1 - Vol.2 [2005]
- Masters Of Horror Series 1 Volume 1 [2005]
- Nosferatu The Vampyre [1979]
- Poltergeist III [1988]
UK DVD List
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