Rating: 
Summary: Great special effects, horrid script
Review: Hollow Man could've been so much better but it just wasn't. Hollow Man takes the idea of the classic Sci Fi movie The Invisible Man and gives it a total shake up. Kevin Bacon plays a government scientist that is testing the possibilies of becoming invisible. He and his team test this new and possibly revolutionary idea on of course, animals and finally, their hopes and works come true as they rematerialize an invisible gorilla. Thinking that Bacon is safe, he has his team turn him invisible hoping that he will be able to rematerialize as well. Things start to go wrong as Bacon and his team are unable to bring him back, he then goes insane and furious and starts taking his revenge on his team, government officials and anyone else that gets in his way. O.k. now here's the bad news. Now normally that sounds really good, but in this day and age, 5 star special effects don't and can't help a poor script and bad plotted movies. I'll say it, it was a great idea but it was poorly executed. Don't get me wrong, the effects are awesome, phenomenal and nothing else was like them. The problem was that the plot was so vast and doubtful (even for Sci Fi) that it made the movie cheap. The other thing that made this one bad was that the characters in the movie (aside from Bacon), might as well have been air brushed in because for the most part, it seemed like they didn't matter because the supporting cast felt nonexistant. None of them gave strong performances or even had adequate dialogue to match Bacon's (and even his was not that impressive). I think the lesson here is that it's no longer the 80's and that when movies have great effects and bad scripts, don't be too surprised if you feel let down because of that. It's good to have high expectations in the viewing of your choice. It's just that Hollow Man shouldn't be a part of that.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Dissapointed
Review: They could have done so much with this movie. It basically had cool special effects and that's it. Keven becomes invisible and instead of doing anything interesting or fun, he rapes a stranger and assaults another. Skip this one.
Rating: 
Summary: An excellent action film...
Review: I very much enjoyed this movie. The effects blew my mind and the concept was a very intriguing one. Also, kudos for not showing, just implying, the rape scene. Bacon was a little too tough (considering the fact he's like 5'8" and 160 pounds) but that was the movie's only flaw. Elizabeth Shue is such a hottie and the all the good characters did very nice jobs. The plot moves fast and the action and suspense grows with every minute of the film. It's a great combination of sci-fi, action, suspense, and even a little horror. Don't mess with a man you can't see. A must buy if you like edge-of-your-seat action and suspense.
Rating:
Summary: wake me when its over
Review: my best advice regarding this film, is that if you have a functioning brain, it may not be by the end.
boring pointless bacon vehicle.
I expect more from Paul Verhoeven, its almost a travesty to mention robocop and starship troopers alongside this.
Rating: 
Summary: SHORT ON PLOT AND CHARACTERIZATION BUT SPECTACULAR VISUAL EFFECTS
Review: This is a reasonably entertaining movie with stunning visual effects. It is really a modern day version of a mad scientist movie. The plot is a little thin. It basically revolves around Kevin Bacon's character, Dr. Sebastian Caine, an egotistical, self absorbed scientific genius who, during the course of his work for the Department of Defense, has managed to render animals to an invisible state and return them to visibility. He does not reveal to the Department of Defense, his financial benefactor, that his work has succeeded. Instead, he ignores protocols and decides that the time has come to take his experimentation to the next level and try it on a human being, himself. To make a long story short, Caine goes ahead with the human experimentation, only to find that he is unable to replicate the success he had with the laboratory animals and render himself visible again, once rendered invisible. He begins to deteriorate mentally, sinking into an inexplicable and bizarre maniacal state until he is totally out of control. Moreover, Caine, the acknowledged genius of a scientific assemblage, is aware that he is losing it. Yet, he does nothing to assist in the discovery of what went wrong with the experiment and what could be done to correct the problem. He, instead, inexplicably leaves the solution to the self-acknowledged lesser capabilities of his colleagues. This simply does not compute with the film's portrayal of Caine's inherent character. There is virtually no explanation for Bacon's rapid descent into apparent madness, where his antics range from naughty and not nice to totally evil and depraved. This is a big hole in the story, and Bacon's character reflects this omission, as the viewer is not moved to feel any compassion for him. The character of Caine is, in essence, just a mechanism used to facilitate a lot of action scenes with great special effects. Therein lies the rub. Caine, as a character, has no redeeming value or quality. In other words he is no Jekyll and Hyde. He is just Hyde. This is why, I believe the movie has been so panned by most viewers, even though they may not have articulated it as such. With such great visual effects, I am also surprised that more attention was not paid to production details. A latex mask created for Caine does not appear to have breathing holes for the nostrils. The film also occasionally segues into the absurd. In one scene, the ease with which plastic bags of blood were ripped open with one character's bare hands defied reality. I have a harder time ripping open a plastic bag of carrots. In another scene, Caine's character is torched with a flame thrower over, and over, and over again. Yet, like the energizer bunny, he keeps on going. This was simply not believable. The film is fraught with a number of moments of implausibility. If you are willing to suspend belief and just sit back and accept the movie at face value, however, one should stll be able to reasonably enjoy this movie, as it does, despite the plot holes, have its moments, and the visual effects are dazzling.
Rating: 
Summary: Who Does'nt See a Little of Themself In Bacon's Role?..
Review: Kevin Bacon is back, in this long-awaited action/thriller using the age-old invisible man. Only with the special effects available today, it's a good thing nobody tried to make this movie 15 years ago. When I saw this movie I had already seen the effects in the movie preview, but what surprised me was that it seemed no corners were cut making this. No effort was made to try to cut it down to PG-13 so little Suzie or Johnny could get in..using the 'F' Word a couple million times and a few bare breasts...I was actually glad the director and producer did'nt sell out to appeal to the younger audience. Along with that, the movie shined with never-before-seen special effects and a storyline I think so many people could relate to.."What would you do if no one could see you". You could pull-off the perfect bank robbery, (forgive me for saying) grab the body of a woman or man who normally would'nt give you the time of day...this plot line along with Kevin Bacon's star status, the eye-popping special effects and sexy Elizabeth Shue made this movie explode. It's violent, vulgar, hardcore and thrilling and 'Hollow Man' I'd say is definately a new and improved side of Kevin Bacon's career.
Rating:
Summary: Hollow Bacon
Review: I loved the premise of this movie: a group of scientists trying to crack through what could be a major discovery of turning animals and possibly humans invisible. In fact, I felt like the first two-thirds of this movie was decent enough. However, then as many movies do of this caliber, it got extremely rediculous. Kevin Bacon offered little to the movie; I actually felt as though many of the other characters were better developed. Bacon acts so cocky and tries to be the "bad" boy so much that it is kind of sickening towards the end of the movie. And, of course, after becoming the invisible man, he goes mad and then proceeds to become "God" (or so he says). Why is it that when someone is shot, stabbed, or, in this case, engulfed with fire like a summer hot dog, they never die in Hollywood movies? They come back like 2,3, 4 times and still go after the person who is trying to destroy them. Then of course, Elizabeth Shue's character says her line "Go to hell" (in the manner of "Hasta La Vista") and the villian falls to his death (apparently, because you never really know). Anyhow, I hope this didn't sound too harsh. There were some cool special effects. I recommend this movie if you are a sci-fi fan, but don't expect anything great. Kevin Bacon is probably regretting making this one.
Rating:
Summary: Bacon Has Done Better, Much Better
Review: Within the realm of Science Fiction, two particular themes consistently elicit interest, were initially explored in the literature of a pre-cinematic era, and have since been periodically revisited by filmmakers and writers alike, with varying degrees of success. The first theme, that of time travel, has held an unwavering fascination for fans of film, as well as the written word, most recently on the screen with yet another version of the H.G. Wells classic, "The Time Machine." The second theme, which also manages to hold audiences in thrall, is that of invisibility, which sparks the imagination with it's seemingly endless and myriad possibilities. And this theme, too, has again become the basis for a film adapted from another H.G. Wells classic, "The Invisible Man," the realization of which, here, is "Hollow Man," directed by Paul Verhoeven, and starring Kevin Bacon and Elisabeth Shue. Sebastian Caine (Bacon) and his colleagues have for some time been conducting experiments for the U.S. Government, exploring the possibility and practicality of invisibility, which they have, at last, achieved in a number of the primates upon which they have tested their method. They have, in fact, progressed to the point that effecting the invisibility is assured; their only problem now is bringing the subject back to the original "visual" state of being. It's a problem, however, that Caine, after diligent effort and too many hours in the lab, has solved-- or so he thinks. And when the application of his theory on a live subject is successful, he decides to present the results to the board of directors, in an effort to thereby maintain the funding necessary for the continuation of the project. At the last minute, though, Caine demurs, fearing that control of the project will be wrested from him before they can proceed to the next level-- the testing of a human subject. And he takes it upon himself to become that subject, securing the assistance of his research team by telling them that they've been given approval by the board to do so. But something goes wrong, and Caine becomes trapped in his cloak of invisibility; and as he and his team struggle to find the solution to his considerable dilemma before it's too late, it all begins to take a toll on Caine's mind. And suddenly, his fear of losing funding and control becomes inconsequential, as he finds himself facing the imminent danger of losing much more than that. Now there's a very real chance that he may lose everything-- Including himself. Verhoeven has crafted what is initially an exciting, even thought provoking film; he establishes a good pace and uses the F/X at his disposal to great effect, though he does tend to allow the striking visuals to overwhelm the character development. Anyone familiar with "The Invisible Man," or actually anyone who can logically follow the progression of the story, will know early on that Caine is not destined for happier times. Still, Verhoeven has a style of storytelling that is definitely going to capture the attention and engage his audience. But he seems bent on rushing toward the climax, and along the way he abandons any and all of the nuance that has made his film thus far successful, opting to enter into a final sequence that is nothing more than a mindless blood-and-gore fest that betrays his audience and everything he's worked for earlier in the film. Rather than seeking an intelligent resolution to Caine's suffering, and using some inventiveness and imagination to take the film to it's inevitable conclusion, Verhoeven takes the low road, and though it may succeed on a purely visceral level, any meaning one could derive from the story dissolves like so many ashes in the wind, along with anything that would have made this a memorable film. And it's a shame, because Verhoeven has it at a higher level than much of what is offered in this genre, and he allows it to sink unnecessarily to one much lower. Kevin Bacon does a good job of creating a character that is believable, if only on the surface, which seemingly serves Verhoeven's purposes perfectly. There's little depth to Bacon's portrayal, but it has more to do with his director's agenda than his own acting abilities. Verhoeven simply does not allow Bacon the time to develop Caine to any extent; the character is mainly a vessel around which Verhoeven can build his story, and toward that end, it works. The film would have been better served, however, had Verhoeven and Bacon collaborated more closely on at least developing a bond between Caine and the audience that would have prompted some emotional involvement on the viewers part, something that would have drawn them in a bit, rather than leaving them at the gate, as it were, as mere observers of an F/X laden extravaganza. Elisabeth Shue comports herself well in the role of Linda McKay, Caine's willing accomplice in the ill-fated experiment, but it's basically a thankless part that offers little challenge, especially to an actor of Shue's caliber. The same can be said of Kim Dickens (so magnificent in the 2001 film, "Things Behind the Sun"). Her character, Sarah Kennedy, does little more than support the action and F/X. Both actors are capable of so much more, and deserve better than what they are given to work with here. The supporting cast includes Josh Brolin (Matthew), Greg Grunberg (Carter), Joey Slotnick (Frank), Mary Randle (Janice) and William Devane (Dr. Kramer). Entertaining to a point, and even successful on a certain (low) level, "Hollow Man" is one of those films that leaves you contemplating what could have been. Like an annual fireworks display, it will give you some momentary thrills, but after awhile it'll begin to blend in with all the others you've seen, without anything special to set it apart. And it's too bad, because given the talent and abilities of those involved here, it could have been so much more.
Rating:
Summary: Special effects are not enough to save a very weak script
Review: Hollow Man is an awful film. Director Paul Verhoeven seemed unable to decide whether to create a fast pace horror film, or to focus upon the existential questions of one becoming invisible. Would invisibility inherently weaken one's bonds with the wider human community? Is the temptation of exploiting such a condition too strong to resist? Verhoeven instead opted for some admittedly fantastic special effects to salvage a very mediocre script. This rarely, if ever succeeds---and most certainly didn't work with Hollow Man. Also, who is responsible for the mediocre music score? It reminded me of the quickly thrown together music that was prevalent in the B movies of the 1960s. Kevin Bacon portrays the egotistical scientist, Sebastian Caine, who is the executive director of a military program to turn people invisible. He jokes about being God, but it is obvious that he at least half believes this to be true. The gorgeous Linda McKay (Elizabeth Shue) is a member of his research team who has romantically left him for the less gifted scientist Matthew Kensington (Josh Brolin). They have long experimented upon animals with a fair degree of success. Now it is time to take it to the next step and pick a human guinea pig. The arrogant and self centered Dr. Caine chooses himself while disregarding all ethical norms and regulations. Caine finds himself ultimately trapped by his invisibility, and lashes out against the cruel set of circumstances dooming him to the fringes of human society. He surrenders to the temptation to sexually violate women. Soon even murder is no longer considered a line in the sand not to be crossed. The story rapidly becomes convoluted and absurd. Logic is thrown out the window, and Verhoeven can do little more than throw extremely violent and cruel scenes onto the screen. The makers of Hollow Man likely realized the film was doomed. They simply wanted to get it over with and hope for the best. Only those fans of spectacular special effects should make a point of viewing this lackluster movie. Hollow Man deserves a mere three stars. This is a pity because the central theme is thought provoking and fraught with wonderful possibilities.
Rating:
Summary: Kevin should have known better...
Review: Kevin Bacon plays a good psycho. Unfortunately part of that involves
the facial expressions he invokes while acting. Can ya see where I am going
with this one? Bacon is the head of a research team trying to invent a way
to turn people invisible and then bring them back...in one piece. After
years of attempting this with animals they have finally succeeded and Bacon
wants to be the first test subject. They do succeed in turning him invisible
but at the end of the three day test are unable to regenerate him. The big
problem here is that the longer someone is in this different spectrum the
more they begin to lose their grip on sanity. Bacon ends up trapping all of
the scientists in the research center with him with the intention of killing
all of them so that he can be free to wreak havoc on the world.
It just doesn't work. Like I said, part of Bacon's intensity is the
facial expressions. When you either see a hazy shape attacking someone or a
mask with eyeholes and a mouthhole attacking, it looses a lot.
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