Hollow Man

A slick, initially disquieting but ultimately silly update of the invisible man scenario, re-envisioned for a CGI world, Hollow Man stars Kevin Bacon as an egomaniacal mad scientist who makes himself transparent, loses his mind and starts murdering his colleagues. Undermined by a ridiculously lascivious atmosphere (off-duty scientist/sexpot Elisabeth Shue vamps around in tops with only one button closed between her breasts), the movie quickly degrades into nothing but a killer-on-the-loose slasher flick with expensive--and yet completely obvious--special effects. As directed by Paul Verhoeven (Showgirls, Starship Troopers), just about every cinematic, dramatic and narrative element gets amped up to the point of laughability, yet the film remains…well…hollow. Not recommended. (R. Blackwelder)[DVD Review—Oct. 16, 2007—Sony, 119 min., not rated, $19.95—Making its third appearance on DVD, 2000's Hollow Man (Director's Cut) sports a fine transfer and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. DVD extras include eight minutes of bonus footage, a “Fleshing Out Hollow Man” section including 15 brief behind-the-scenes featurettes (42 min. total), an “Anatomy of a Thriller” making-of featurette produced by HBO (15 min.), three VFX picture-in-picture comparisons (4 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a lame thriller.]