O Homem Sem Sombra

This could, and should, have been an interesting look on the idea of invisibility. Unfortunately, somewhere along the line, they ran out of ideas and decided to just kill everyone off and have it end in huge explosions, demonstrating a total lack of creativity. Too bad. It could have been great, were it not for the total lack of good acting, the one-dimensional characters, the corny lines and the general lack of anything worthwhile in the movie at all, other than good special effects. I feel bad for Paul Verhoeven; he used to make great movies; RoboCop, Basic Instinct & Starship Troopers were all way better than this mainstream garbage. The only good thing about this movie is the special effects, and, believe me, they are good. They are just not good enough to distract the viewer from all the negative points about the movie. It's really too bad that they couldn't make a better movie about invisibility; we've never had a truly good movie dealing with the rush of power it would be to be invisible. This movie tries, but it just falls short. All those great special effects, and no good movie to back them up. I'd only recommend this to special effect nerds, people who'll watch a movie regardless of quality just to see good special effects. I can't imagine anyone else actually enjoying this movie. I gave it a 6/10, but only because of the special effects.

I was pleasantly surprised by this film. The acting was quite adequate, the film score very imaginative and the special effects amazing (and gruesome). It copies "The Invisible Man", made half a century before, in having its protagonist lose his mind but unlike the other film, there is no humor to be found - nor any reason for it. It is a bit too apocalyptic near the end and I felt that the special effects turned it perhaps too much into a technical spectacle, but it made sense in general and brought me more pleasure than I had expected. Kevin Bacon was certainly up the his part and William Devane was frightening in his brief scene,

Curtis Stotlar

The 2000 movie "Hollow Man" from director Paul Verhoeven is a movie that can be watched again and again. And I have certainly sat down to watch it several times since it was initially released. And the movie continues to be every bit as entertaining with each viewing.

The storyline in "Hollow Man", as written by Gary Scott Thompson and Andrew W. Marlowe, is a rather enjoyable and entertaining script which makes for a very watchable movie. Not only is it good entertainment, but the storyline definitely also gives you something to think about, and that is something I enjoy about this movie. So thumbs up to the writers for that accomplishment.

Not only does "Hollow Man" have a good storyline and script, but it most certainly also have a great cast ensemble. The movie is carried nicely by leading actor Kevin Bacon, but the movie also have the likes of Elisabeth Shue, Josh Brolin, Kim Dickens, Rhona Mitra and others on the cast list. So you definitely are in capable hands here throughout the course of the 112 minutes that the movie run for.

Visually then "Hollow Man" was and still is a great movie. I like the special effects they pulled off in this 2000 movie, because it looks and feels real, and it adds a very enjoyable layer to the movie. So the special effects department really pulled their weight when they worked on "Hollow Man".

If you haven't already seen "Hollow Man", from director Paul Verhoeven, you certainly should do so, if you get the chance. It is a good movie.

My rating "Hollow Man" lands on a seven out of ten stars.

I watched Hollow Man in theaters and maybe once after that. I remember liking it. All these years later as a much more seasoned movie fiend, I expected this to be outdated, cheesy and bad. Yet I found myself enjoying it from beginning to end.

It barely feels dated. The visual effects are a thousand times better than I expected them to be. The pacing is great with increased intensity through to the climax. There are so many suspenseful scenes as well as creepy ones.

There are a few questionable parts but the movie is way smarter than the usual late 90s/early 2000s movie. It also repeatedly surprised me with the violence. Every time I think something will be implied or will happen off screen, the movie says nope, in your face. I miss when movies weren't afraid and am so sick of all the neutered PG-13 horror movies.

(about 3 viewings, 6/29/2024)

Hollow Man boasts some pretty impressive visual effects and does have an intriguing story. Kevin Bacon plays Sebastion Caine, an arrogant scientist who develops a serum for invisibility. Withholding information from his superiors, Caine tests his serum on himself and undergoes a transformation that is quite visually arresting. It's like an anatomy book come to life. But while Caine's transformation and subsequent experiments with his new found power prove interesting, the movie fails to capture what it feels like to truly be invisible. Caine says to his colleagues, "You have know idea how much fun this is." In truth, we don't. We see Caine slowly going mad and trapping his fellow scientists in the lab when they threaten to go public. But, we don't get any sense of power from Caine. True he does venture out into public and enters the apartment of his very fetching neighbor, but that's about all the real world we see with Caine. It would've been interesting to see Caine in the real world, and what would've been done to capture him. Instead, we have Bacon, Elisabeth Shue and Josh Brolin and a few others mixing it up in a hidden lab somewhere in D.C. While the actors try to make the best with what they have, Paul Verhoeven tries to goose us a little. He succeeds in a few instances, and he does manage to hold your attention for a while, but the ending is the weakest link in the movie. Had there been a stronger ending, the movie would've been a little better. As it is now, it's a good exercise in visual effects territory, but there are so many other possibilities that lay with the story of an invisible human being.