Review of Hollow Man (2000) by Byron B — 14 Nov 2009

Even on the special features for the original Invisible Man movies it was admitted that the theme of invisibility has always dealt with nudity. The invisible person strips and in order to walk around undetectable they must not be wearing clothes.

Plus voyeurism without being caught is an obvious fantasy. Then any legit adapter of H.G. Wells' original concept knows that invisibility leads to megalomania, so it makes sense that violence would follow.

Verhoeven is not afraid of either. The effects, particularly of the gorilla becoming visible again and Bacon becoming invisible layer by layer, are amazing. However, Verhoeven is not as good as he thinks he is at telling a story and developing characters and relationships we care about.

Though the effects are not cheap, the thrills feel cheap.