Hollow Man

HOLLOW MAN (18)

D: Paul Verhoeven

Columbia (Douglas Wick & Alan Marshall)

US 2000

114 mins

Science Fiction/Horror

W: Andrew W. Marlowe & Gary Scott Thompson

DP: Jost Vacano

Ed: Mark Goldblatt

Mus: Jerry Goldsmith

PD: Allan Cameron

Kevin Bacon (Sebastian Caine), Elisabeth Shue (Linda McKay), Josh Brolin (Matt Kensington), Greg Grunberg (Carter Abbey), Mary Jo Randle (Janice Walton), Kim Dickens (Sarah Kennedy)

Gruesome update of The Invisible Man with some incredibly good visual effects. Kevin Bacon plays a power mad scientist who insists on being the guinea pig in an invisibility experiment. The experiment is a success, but the reversal is a failure. Detained in an underground lab, his behaviour becomes increasingly psychotic and he takes out the rest of his team, the only people who know about his condition.

The film takes certain liberties with the laws of physics, which can easily be ignored for the sake of entertainment, but unfortunately the thriller falls flat in the last few scenes. The filmmakers definitely missed a trick by opting for a formulaic Hollywood ending, especially when a more ambiguous one could have spelt potential for further sequels.

6/10