HOLLOW MAN
Rated R - Running Time: 1:54 - Released 8/4/00
At some point or another, every young boy (I can't speak for girls)
has fantasized about being invisible, primarily for the purpose
of hiding in the girls' dressing (or locker) room and witnessing
the inexplicable delight of...girls undressing. The practical
applications of invisibility have never been explored beyond this
pre-pubescent fantasy, mainly because as one matures, one comes
to realize the physical impossibility of such a concept. Darn
it. Unfortunately, that realization has escaped the producers
of Hollow Man, and so the script (by Gary Scott Thompson
and Andrew W. Marlowe) and direction (by Paul Verhoeven) never
rise above that immature viewpoint, either. Even a capable actor
like Kevin Bacon is embarrassingly unable to salvage any credibility
from this text, and although he is invisible for most of the movie,
there are a few scenes where the poor guy's face is recognizable.
Hollow Man is stupid beyond all formerly held definitions
of stupidity, but, as with so many films concocted around the
possibility of interesting digital effects, its visuals save it
from being a complete waste of time. A waste of money, yes.
Dr. Sebastian Caine (Bacon) is a genius scientist who, along
with his crew, has been conducting a top secret experiment contracted
by the pentagon: an injection designed to turn people invisible.There
is little question why the military would want such a thing; just
think how much more fun Tailhook would be, for starters. Sebastian's
crew includes his old girlfriend, Linda McKay (Elisabeth Shue),
her new boyfriend, Matt Kensington (Josh Brolin), "the best
veterinarian in the country" (Kim Dickens), and a few other
scientists who are involved because of the obvious locker-room-viewing
potential. After the "bio-quantum phase shift" process
is ready, Sebastian decides to be the first human guinea pig.
Sure enough, he is soon transparent, and suddenly his scientific
ethic devolves into scaring kids and raping women. But when the
process for returning him to visibility fails, the fun's over,
and after 10 days, Sebastian begins to get tired of hanging out
in the bathroom watching for panties. Finally, Linda and Matt
decide to admit to their superior, Dr. Howard Kramer (William
Devane) that the mission has failed. But Sebastian knows what
that will do to his career, so he decides to maintain his professional
standing by killing everyone. Talk about Dr. Evil.
Apart from inexplicable character changes, howlingly bad dialogue,
and the various physical impossibilities of the script, director
Verhoeven (Starship Troopers)
seems to rely on violence and style-copying to save a film that's
gone off track. The final half hour resembles a run-of-the-mill
slasher film more than a sci-fi adventure, and much of the action
is lifted almost directly from Alien.
Let's face it, folks: invisibility is impossible. We're just going to have to keep putting mirrors on the tops of our shoes until something better comes along. *½