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  ‘Hollow
Man’
Released on video Tuesday, Jan. 2,
2001
 Rated R 113
minutes Columbia Tristar
Directed by Paul Verhoeven
Starring:
Kevin Bacon
Elisabeth Shue
Josh Brolin
William Devane
Warnings:
Some bad
language, partial nudity, sexual situations. Not appropriate for
young children under the age of 15. Needs adult supervision and an
adequate debrief afterwards.
[JAN.
3, 2001]
There
is a direct link between being invisible and being naughty, and
"Hollow Man" revisits that classic theme which is
prevalent in every TV show, every book and every movie in which the
characters are unseen.
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Dr.
Sebastian Caine (Kevin Bacon) is the lead scientist in a military
project which has already succeeded in making lab animals
invisible. The military’s aim, of course, is to put invisible
soldiers and spies on the battlefield. In the opening scenes of
the movie, the team, headed by Caine, is searching for the cure
for invisibility, in order to return once-invisible soldiers to a
state of visibility when their mission is finished.
Aided
by his ex-girlfriend (Elisabeth Shue), Caine discovers the correct
formula to return a gorilla to visibility. Delusions of godhood
dance in his head as Caine plots to try the invisibility formula
on himself, and then the real story begins.
The
special effects in this movie are in short, amazing. Visions of
Caine covered in water, mist and blood are striking. The images of
Caine vanishing and partly reappearing — along with the similar
re-materialization of an invisible gorilla — absolutely dazzle.
Other movies about invisibility include corny scenes where
invisibility is portrayed in some lame way or invisibility is used
in some cute prank. Not this film: "Hollow Man" is
serious, right out of the box.
[to
top of second column in this review]
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Interestingly,
this is another Verhoeven film about the rise of technology. His
messages seem to imply that mankind is powerless or unable to assume a
comfortable place in the face of changing times and power beyond
imagination.
The
plot of this story exploits this classic theme well but panders to
sexual deviancy. There is nothing uplifting about this film, and in the
end it left me cold.
Director
Paul Verhoeven ("Robocop," "Starship Troopers") is
at his best in this movie. Actors Bacon and Shue are dynamic (Bacon
dynamically evil, Shue dynamically heroic). The set, the animations and
the story work together beautifully.
The
best line from the movie: "It's amazing what you can do when you
don't have to look at yourself in the mirror." Even with witty
lines and excellent acting, you won’t see this movie for its
intelligence. See it for the special effects.
The
notion to do good deeds while invisible never seems to be a theme in
invisible-man movies. What does that say about us? Think about it.
I give
this movie a rating of 3˝ stars out of 5.
[midge]
midge@lincolndailynews.com
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