Hollow Man

2.5/4

Starring: Kevin Bacon, Elisabeth Shue, Josh Brolin

The version I saw was the unrated one.  For the record, the theatrical cut was rated R for Strong Violence, Language, and Some Sexuality/Nudity

"Hollow Man" is a visually striking thriller that shoots itself in the foot because of a few truly reprehensible plot elements.  Distilled to its essence, this is a sci-fi slasher movie, and while none of the films in this genre are exactly rays of sunshine, the handling of some of the material made me feel sick.

Dr. Sebastian Caine (Kevin Bacon) is an egomaniacal scientist trying to find the key to turning living beings invisible.  With the help of his co-workers Linda (Elisabeth Shue) and Matthew (Josh Brolin), he has found a way to turn animals invisible, but bringing them back eludes him.  Once he figures out the solution, Sebastian elects to use himself as a guinea pig.  But something goes wrong, and he's stuck being see-through.  But as he finds out, being invisible has its perks…until he starts losing his mind.

The acting is adequate.  Kevin Bacon is okay as the scientist who thinks himself as God, but this is not one of his best performances.  Bacon shows restraint when the role is crying out for someone to go over the top.  Elisabeth Shue and Josh Brolin are a little better as the protagonists caught in a moral quagmire.  No one else really merits a mention, except that Kim Dickens is horrible.  She can't act, and her character is profoundly irritating.

Paul Verhoeven is not known for his subtlety.  In movies like "Total Recall" and "Basic Instinct," such a quality is an asset.  I'm not going to say that a subtle approach would have made this film better (that would be a very big lie), but his handling of two key scenes makes them not only despicable, but they completely destroy any goodwill that the film has built up.  One is a rape scene that occurs about halfway through the movie.  Handled correctly, it could have been a strong character building moment for Sebastian.  But Verhoeven treats it as a throwaway, which makes it exploitative.  The other scene occurs a little later.  There's a particularly brutal act of animal cruelty that is needlessly violent, and as such, feels cruel rather than shocking or scary.

One of the most important things that a thriller needs is a keen sense of atmosphere, and that's the biggest thing that is missing from this film.  There's no sense of menace in the film that allows the tension to slowly build.  In a not so strange way, I was reminded of Ridley Scott's landmark horror film, "Alien."  The two films take place in slightly similar surroundings, but Scott took time to slowly build his film to a terrifying climax.  "Hollow Man" doesn't do this, and as such, is a lot less scary than it could have been.

I'll admit that the special effects, while dated, are pretty cool to look at.  The scenes where a gorilla and Sebastian turn visible/invisible vein by vein are pretty awesome, and the scenes where the heroes use whatever means they can to make Sebastian temporarily visible (water, fire extinguishers, etc) are neat as well.  Plus there's that great scene in the pool.  But they're not enough to redeem a film that made me feel unclean.

Revision: Despite having elements that were a huge turn-off for me, I find something strangely compelling about "Hollow Man."  Maybe it's because I see it for what it could (and should) have been, but not for what it is.  The film is scary, yes, and while the rape scene is unnecessarily gratuitous, I can see what Verhoeven was trying to do.  Sebastian Cane is an egomaniac who gets off on tormenting his co-workers (especially the female ones); he's a walking sexual harassment lawsuit waiting to happen.  There is a compelling kernel of an idea here.  Sebastian is a man who needs to dominate, and in this way, the rape scene makes sense.  Released from the prison of being seen, he can unleash his animal desires.  Unfortunately, the script is just not developed enough to provide this insight.  That's why the scene feels unclean.

I'm going to up the rating to 2.5/4.  It's too problematic to recommend outright, but there is some good stuff here.  If you're looking for eye-popping special effects and shocks, you'll find them here.  Just be warned of what you're getting yourself into.  My opinion about the scene where the dog is killed has not changed, however.