Rating: 
Summary: After all . . .
Review: the negative reviews and comments, I decided to rent this DVD rather than purchase. It took me a long time to get through the film because I kept going back to see and hear moments over again. As they say in the current vernacular, it's eye candy (also ear candy for me!) Just when I think I have seen everything, along comes a video transfer that is simply terrific. The picture and sound quality are top-notch, and I don't believe anyone meant this to be a "thinker's" film -- not with all the tremendous special effects. Bringing on invisibility and the opposite!! I was thoroughly entertained and satisfied with the entire movie. Really enjoyed the invisible gorilla and dog, and thought any climax would be anti-climactic, but not so -- although predictable, it is very exciting and I have ordered my copy from .... and so, months later, I still find this movie fun--often watch it in bits and pieces I like. Even have the Superbit version as well!
Rating: 
Summary: Slick visual effects for a high budget B movie
Review: This is an utterly unoriginal update of H.G. Wells "Invisible Man", which was first made into a movie in 1933. In that story, a scientist invents a formula to make beings invisible and after taking it himself, he goes mad and goes on a killing spree. This film doesn't vary much from that formula except, unfortunately, the presentation is as unintelligent as that of a low budget slasher film.Invisibility is a premise that is fertile with possibilities. It could have taken any number of directions other than a hack movie. Writers Gary Scott Thompson and Andrew Marlowe venture into voyeurism and molestation and stop just short of rape, which could have been an interesting main theme for a detective story. Instead, they use it only as an appetizer and then default to the unimaginative. Another possibility would have been to use the advantage of invisibility to steal money or top-secret information to accumulate power. However, why waste time writing an original script when you can trot out yet another production line monster? In the typical B horror movie tradition, the truculent Dr. Caine (Kevin Bacon) is "killed" at least four times, each by means no human being could survive. Director Paul Verhoven has long been associated with sci-fi thrillers (Robo Cop, Total Recall, Starship Troopers). What they all seem to have in common is good special effects and weak stories. I don't know whether this is bad judgment on Verhoven's part in selecting projects or poor presentation; probably it's a bit of each. If there is one area where this film is superlative, it is visual effects. The transformation to and from invisibility is fantastic, almost a lesson in anatomy as the various organs of the body are peeled away a layer at a time. The incorporation of this effect with an actor writhing against restraints on the operating table is astonishing. In addition, the renderings of the form of the invisible man seen by various means are astounding. He produces one silhouette while under water, another when sprayed with a fire extinguisher and still another when seen with infrared glasses. These effects alone are worth suffering through this clunker. Kevin Bacon gives a good performance as the maniac. He is extremely believable in malevolent roles. The DVD has a featurette that shows how some of the effects were done. They required Bacon to wear head-to-toe blue, green and black body suits for various effects, many of which took hours to apply and were uncomfortable to wear. I have to give him credit for still being able to act while trussed up this way. Elizabeth Shue is wrong for this role. She does well in sexy roles, lovable roles and sometimes even intelligent roles, but she is definitely not suited for action roles. Josh Brolin give a credible performance as Caine's rival. This film is a bundle of wasted potential. I rated it a 6/10, a kindness bestowed in honor of vanguard visual effects. Lovers of mindless gore add two points. It's worth seeing for the visuals if you can stomach a variation on "Friday the Thirteenth" in the last 30 minutes.
Rating: 
Summary: I usually like Kevin Bacon movies
Review: I really do like most of Kevin Bacon's movies-but not this time. The "science" is insipid-his invisible eyelids can't block the light, but his invisible retina can form an image from his invisible iris. And duct tape is put to marvelous use in this movie as well-enabling a man who has a hole punched in his abdomen by a crowbar to hang from a ladder by one arm while holding his girlfriend with the other. It's also hard to see why Kevin Bacons character becomes nearly invincible once he becomes invisible. The acting if okay in this movie--it's the writers who failed miserably. Ths movie also has several scenes which seem to be there merely to appeal to deviants. I borrowed this dvd to watch it-and I still felt ripped off!
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty cool
Review: I'm really surprised that this movie is rating so low here on amazon! I really enjoyed the movie. I was exhausted when i watched this and didn't think i'd be able to stay awake for a whole film. I did and liked it more than i thought i would. I hadn't really heard much of the hype leading up to the release, so perhaps that is why i was pleased. I love KB and he makes a pretty mean villian. Don't care much for ES but i got over it. I think you should give it a go...rent it first, and have fun!
Rating:
Summary: promising but disappointing
Review: What would you do if you knew you could do anything you wanted to utterly secure in the knowledge that there could be no eyewitness to your actions? Or, stated in more universal terms, are we humans really innately good and moral beings, concerned with the well being of the fellow members of our species? Or are we merely held back from acting out our base primal urges for evil and destruction through fear of detection and punishment? This intriguing premise serves as the basis for "Hollow Man," a sci-fi thriller that, initially at least, toys with some of these deeper themes yet, like so many big budget action films, ultimately yields to incredibility, preposterousness, and over-the-top sensationalism. A movie like "Hollow Man" provides a rather unique opportunity for a lead actor - in this case, Kevin Bacon - in that he probably only appears on screen for about a third of the duration of the film. It is probably the skimpiest lead role in movie history, since most of the rest of the time he merely needs to contribute voice over assistance or appear behind a hollowed out rubber mask. Credit the filmmakers with at least having the courage to present a rather desipicable character as their protagonist. Yet, even in its initial stages, when it appears as if it might actually explore the more metaphorical aspects of the title and examine the hollowness within the central figure himself, the film still suffers from both credibility gaps and lapses in logic. We are supposed to believe, for instance, that the Pentagon would be willing to fund this ragtag collection of babes and hunks masquerading as serious scientists in their research into invisibility - though the purpose for the Pentagon's interest in the experiment is never adequately explained to us. None of the researchers seem as if they will be pushing middle age anytime soon and Bacon's character, Sebastian Caine, is particularly unconvincing as the "genius" he is purported to be since he never utters a single observation whose profundity would challenge the average junior high school student teetering on the verge of puberty. In fact, Caine, when he isn't trumpeting his own accomplishments to a rather unappreciative world, can be found peering lustfully through the blinds at the very sexy neighbor across the alley. This tendency towards voyeurism sets the character up for some profound possibilities once he himself turns invisible, yet after a few halfhearted thrusts in that direction, the filmmakers end up locking all the characters into the laboratory while a by-now-crazed Caine attempts to knock them all off one by one. This is where the movie really falls apart. The filmmakers - writers Gary Scott Thompson and Andrew W. Marlowe along with the normally gifted director Paul Verhoeven - lose all control of the potentially intriguing themes they have hitherto set up and spend the last hour or so piling on one action movie cliché and character inanity after another. Why make a movie about an invisible man if you don't intend to do anything interesting with it? By the end, "Hollow Man" begins to feel like just the latest variant on the "Alien" movies, "Deep Blue Sea," "The Thing" and countless other films wherein a group of people are trapped and being hunted by a force with superior powers. Another flaw: how is Caine, in his invisible state, able to move around so soundlessly? People do make noise when they move and it seems unlikely that Caine's presence would really be all that hard to detect. Elisabeth Shue, Josh Brolin, Kim Dickens and others in the cast aren't given much of an opportunity to exercise their acting muscles - and, unlike Bacon, they are not afforded the option of blanking themselves into invisibility for the duration. Considering the results on screen, Bacon just might be a genius after all! A special note: while I was viewing this film at home, someone knocked on my front door - and, guess what, there was no one there! Spooky!
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding special effects make up for predictable plot
Review: As someone who appreciates good special effects, I thought this movie was very enjoyable. The story introduces no new twists and little innovation to the standard action/horror genre (much of the action was predictable), yet nevertheless the effects were good enough to keep me engrossed in the film. The second audio channel on the DVD is certainly worth listening to after you've watched Hollow Man once through. Verhoeven, Bacon, and Marlowe relate good stories about the process of creating the effects, and I was just as engrossed watching the movie the second time around with the commentary on as I was the first time around. I've found such commentary on DVDs to be of random value; perhaps because I was so interested in the effects, the commentary accompanying Hollow Man was especially helpful. If you like good effects and can look past the fact that Bacon plays a dark character who uses his invisibility for some pretty perverse purposes, you'll like this DVD.
Rating:
Summary: Very cool film!
Review: Movie- Dr.Sebastian Caine(Kevin Bacon)and his fellow scientists(including Elisabeth Shue and Josh Brolin) have sucessfully turned animals invisible and brought them back to their original form. But that wasnt enough for Sebastian he wanted to achieve the ultimate by making the first human being invisible. And so by volunteering to be the first he does just that. But as days go by his team of fellow scientists cant bring him back.And more and more Sebastian starts to get out of control by the days and soon he starts doing horrible things no one could ever imagine. Hollow Man directed by Paul Verhoeven(Total Recall,Starship troopers) and written by Andrew Matlowe (Air Force One)is filled with great characters, a good story, and simply spectacular effects. Ok ok so its not perfect. But who cares. Its a FUN MOVIE to watch and thats really all thats important when watching a movie, how fun and entertaining it is and boy did this movie deliver!! Give it a shot, you might be pleasantly surprised by what you see or what you dont see. ( I know i was) DVD- The DVD of Hollow Man is excellent as well. It contains a very entertaining and informative comentary track with Paul Verhoeven and Kevin Bacon and Andrew Marlowe, a very cool Making of feature with all kinds of behind the scenes footage and interviews with the stars. Also included are 3 deleted scenes that are just OK. As well as 15(!) small behind- the-scenes featurettes on different parts on the making of the movie (most are special effects). Also on this Special edition are the theatrical trailers(for other films as well),some cool VFX picture in picture comparisons, an Isolated music score with Jerry goldsmith commentary, talent files and production notes.
Rating:
Summary: Creepy movie with a moral delema
Review: OK...seems like lots of folks didn't like this movie because it was hokie or had a "hollow" plot. First of all the effects were great, and after seeing the making of the movie on the DVD edition....it was amazing how much went into them. OK...the plot COULD have been more involved, but I think most folks are missing the point. IF there was a way to become invisible....what would YOU do??? Would you use it to your advantage, for immoral purposes, or use it strictly for science??? This issue was touched upon in the movie, but most didn't catch it. The acting was all around ok, with good casting. The scientific premise was pretty hokie, but then no one has ever become invisible, so there was no basis for it. Because Kevin Bacon was actually ON the set in the scenes (in a green suit) the actors could ACT toward a real human not just the camera and it made that aspect more realistic. If you are into the original "Invisible Man", then you will probably like the twist they put on it. There is plenty of action and great effects....but if it's a deep plot, and superb acting that you want, then try the "Patriot".
Rating:
Summary: Top notch visual special FX
Review: While "Hollow Man" can, in no way, be considered a great or even a good movie the visuals make this movie a MUST SEE. Brings new meaning to "State of the Art."
Rating: 
Summary: Big Effects, Big Disappointment...
Review: While I have enjoyed some of Verhoeven's films (Starship Troopers, Robocop), I did not think much of this one. The dialogue is juvenile; a certain four-letter word seems to be in every sentence. I am not a member of the Moral Majority, but I do get the feeling that scriptwriters are lacking in ability when they must resort to cursing overkill. The plot has some obvious holes in it, which more or less blow the film out of the water. The Brolin character gets skewered by a crowbar, then reappears full-strength as if nothing had happened. Kevin Bacon is turned into a crispy critter-literally burned with a blowtorch, but still has energy to create mayhem for the film's finale. Gaffes such as these are an insult to any filmgoer's intelligence. The CGI is superb, but is not worth much without good dialogue and a sensible plot to back it up. Too bad; all looks with no substance. Frankly, this director has done, and is capable of, much better than this. Back to the drawing board, Paul.
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