Doghousesmall
Doghouse
19863
Hollow Man (Director's Cut)
(2000)
Hollow Man
Open your eyes
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Stars: Kevin Bacon, Josh Brolin, William Devane, Elisabeth Shue, Kim Dickens
Director: Paul Verhoeven
Writer: Gary Scott Thompson, Andrew W. Marlowe
Language: English
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Duration: 118
Rated: Unrated
DVD Release: October 2007

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 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


Elisabeth ShueLinda McKay
Kevin BaconSebastian Caine
Josh BrolinMatthew Kensington
Kim DickensSarah Kennedy
Greg GrunbergCarter Abbey
Joey SlotnickFrank Chase
Mary RandleJanice Walton
William DevaneDr. Kramer
Rhona MitraSebastian's Neighbor
Pablo EspinosaWarehouse Guard
Margot RoseMrs. Kramer
Jimmie F. SkaggsWino
Jeffrey ScaperrottaBoy in Car
Sarah BowlesGirl in Car
Kelli ScottMom
Steve AltesDad
J. Patrick McCormackGeneral Caster
Darius A. SultanGate Guard
Tom Woodruff Jr.Isabelle the Gorilla
David VogtHelicopter Pilot
Gary A. HeckerGorilla Vocals (voice) (as Gary Hecker)
Jerry GoldsmithComposer
Jost VacanoCinematographer
Mark GoldblattEditor
Ron VignoneEditor
Genre: Mystery & Suspense
Media: Blu-ray
Sound: Dolby
IMDb: 0164052