Posted: 08/08/2000

Hollow Man

(2000)

by Wayne Case

A potential shocker from the same guy who gave us such scary films as Basic Instinct and Showgirls.

What a disappointment!

If I had checked the writing credits in advance, I probably wouldn’t have been so surprised! This script is credited to Andrew W. Marlow who previous gave us Peter Hyams/Arnold Schwarzenegger’s lame and loud End Of Days; the story is credited to Gary Scott Thompson, who previously inflicted the James Belushi dog called K-9! I have to question why these two writers were selected for this very high budgeted film. It was a mistake.

The set-up is fine. Kevin Bacon (Diner, Footloose, Wild Things) is a hotshot scientist who heads a team working on a government project that would allow people to become temporarily invisible. Things go terribly wrong when he tries the experiment on himself. The other members of the team can’t reverse his invisible state and this is where the film goes terribly wrong also. It simply becomes another routine slasher flick.

Top billed Elisabeth Shue (Cocktail, The Saint, Leaving Las Vegas) portrays another scientist on the team and his former lover. (Evidently, Ms. Shue’s scientist went to the same schools as that another outstanding cinematic scientist, Denise Richards, attended for her part in James Bond’s recent The World Is Not Enough.) Kevin Bacon is one of my favorites and does what the script requires here. Ms. Shue is adequate, but brings no special personality to the part and is not as attractive as she has been in the past. To be fair, during filming, the actress did suffer injuries that delayed the film for a couple of months since she couldn’t even walk unassisted. This could account for her not being in great shape, but it doesn’t explain why someone didn’t think it necessary to comb her hair. Josh Brolin (stepson to Barbra!) is agreeable in a supporting role.

I’m a big fan of director Paul Verhoeven even when his films aren’t totally successful! He is audacious & his films generally have great energy. I first became aware of him when his Dutch language 1973 film, Turkish Delight, was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Language category . (It was beaten by Day For Night, but should be sought out to view on video.) I think Robocop, Total Recall, and Basic Instinct are terrific, and Starship Troopers ranks high on my list of “guilty pleasures”. Very little in HOLLOW MAN reminds me of any of these earlier releases.

Jerry Goldsmith (Chinatown, Hoosiers, Gremlins, LA Confidential and more than 225 others!) provides the original music, and Jost Vacano, who photographed many of Verhoeven’s earlier films, does a good job here also. Oscar nominations should materialize for these special effects/makeup. They are truly outstanding and could actually justify seeing the film, if technical wizardry is enough to keep you interested. What a shame that there isn’t a better story!

Wayne Case works in the film industry in Hollywood, and still can’t help himself — he loves the movies.

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