Contents
Reviews
How
Discs Are Rated
#
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
News
Archives
DVD
Guide
Contest
Video
Game Reviews
About
DVDlaunch
Meet
The Staff
Contact
|
Hollow Man
review by Anthony D.
Rated R
Studio: Columbia/Tri-Star
Running Time: 113 minutes
Starring Elizabeth Shue, Kevin Bacon, Josh Brolin, Kim
Dickens, Greg Grunberg
Screenplay by Andrew W. Marlowe
Directed by Paul Verhoeven
Retail Price: $24.95
Features: Theatrical Trailers, Commentary with Paul
Verhoeven, Kevin Bacon and Andrew W. Marlowe, Isolated Music
Score, Featurettes, VFX Picture in Picture Comparisons,
Talent Files, Production Notes, DVD-ROM: Weblinks
Specs: 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, Dolby Digital
5.1, English 2.0 Dolby Digital, French 2.0 Dolby Digital,
English Subtitles, French Subtitles, Chapter Search
The tone for this misogynistic , ultra-violent variation
on "The Invisible Man" is set by an invisble force picking
up a rat and crushing the rat in an explosion of blood. With
nary a lull between shocks, "Hollow Man" concentrates its
tale on the efforts of a team of scientists, working in a
secret government lab, to find a reversion formula for their
brand-new invisibility formula. It seems that these crafty
scientists have the ability to make creatures large and
small, completely invisible (Phase I), but have yet to find
the means of returning them to their natural state of
visibility. At home in front of his computer, Dr. Sebastian
Caine, (Kevin Bacon) stumbles upon a solution which seems to
be stable. To complete the Phase II testing, Caine calls his
reliable staff in for an early morning reversion test on the
gorilla which we did not see as it crushed and fed on the
rat. The ultra-intelligent team primarily consists of
Caine's ex-girlfriend (Elizabeth Shue), a younger
up-and-coming colleague (Josh Brolin) and a veterinarian
whose love of the creatures signals her downfall.
Once the government commands that results be shown, Caine
decides in all his God-like wisdom, to tackle Phase Three on
with himself as the guinea pig. Phase III, though results in
an unstable serum, leaving Caine stuck in an invisible state
of being. Of course, to Caine, this is not as painful for a
chauvinistic bastard like himself. His invisibility allows
his duplicitous nature to indulge in his sexual fantasies by
undressing and fondling sleeping women, as well as invisibly
raping the stunning neighbor her spies on nightly. When he
murders a government official, it is up to his team of
scientists to hunt him down and see that justice is served.
This is most definitely a reference disc. The
state-of-the-art CGI-special effects are cutting edge and
never once appear to be computer generated. The image is
sharp clean and artifact free. Fleshtones remain constant,
and the abundantly flowing blood is displayed through every
hue normally associated with blood, from the dark maroon of
blood-letting through the vibrant brick-red reminiscent of
slasher films. Night scenes (Chapter 19, for example) show a
wide range of stable dark colors.
As state, the computer generated effects are the best of
their nature, and "Hollow Man's" extensive use of special
effects are presented brilliantly on this disc. Presented in
a widescreen anamorphic presentation, properly framed at
1.85:1, the viewer is treated to naturally realized states
of visibility: skeletal, burnt, steamed and wet states of
Sebastian's experiment are completely believable at every
given twist and turn of the plot.
Columbia's reference quality does not refer to the video
presentation alone; "Hollow Man" boast one of the
intricately detailed, highly aggressive Dolby Digital 5.1
soundtracks ever offered on a dvd. For nearly the entire
film each speaker is given a life of its own, starting with
the opening stinger in the animal laboratory tunnel, where
what seem to be thousands of animals are grunting, growling
and yapping from every direction. The musical score, by the
great Jerry Goldsmith, comes and swinging, and pulling no
punches attacks the listener with a ferocity equal to the
evil presented in the major character. Like the titular
hollow man, the soundtrack attacks the viewer and takes no
prisoners. The bass extension is played to the maximum;
while even the quietest of dialogue scenes are presented
faithfully.
Columbia Pictures has nearly overloaded this disc with
supplemental features ranging from a scene-specific,
sometimes humorous audio commentary with Kevin Bacon, Paul
Verhoeven and writer Andrew Marlowe. A second commentary is
a true gem, what I hope is the first of many more, composer
Jerry Goldsmith treats us to a fascinating account of the
music of "Hollow Man," with the added benefit of its
isolated score. There is a fluff piece from HBO, "Anatomy of
a Thriller," deleted scenes presented by the director,
FIFTEEN (!) short, but necessary, featurettes under the
heading of "Fleshing Out the Hollow Man" which takes the
viewer through the various stages of making Kevin Bacon's
character appear under various elements, some before and
after special effects shots with picture-in-picture
reference - -and, in addition to all of those: a set of
theatrical trailers each related in some way to "Hollow
Man:" "A Few Good Men," "Starship Troopers," as well as the
piece de resistence, the computer-generated "Final Fantasy."
This trailer generates enough buzz, and delivers quite a
booming bass, to whet appetites for its summer release; and,
the trailer is anamorphic widescreen and Dolby Digital 5.1!
(Editor's Note: That's my most anticipated film this
summer... hope there are Chocobos!)
This is definitely a keeper of a dvd! I only wish that I
could warm up to the film as much as it's digital entity.
"Hollow Man" owes a great debt to past films - - can we all
say "The Invisible Man?" - - but will most likely be
remembered for pushing the envelope of special effects
further than film-makers have gone before. After a great
first third, though, "Hollow Man" becomes quite a bitter
pill to swallow as it wallows in its misogyny and
ultra-violence. Moving at a brisk pace, and filled with many
mind-blowing sequences, "Hollow Man" is sure to please the
special effects and sci-fi mavens out there, so pop that
corn, dim the lights and settle back in your favorite chair
and let "Hollow Man" weave its invisible spell around you.
 (3/5, NOT included in
final score)
 (5/5)
(5/5)
(5/5)
(5/5,
NOT an average)
|
