Hollow Man

REVIEW
Verhoeven's cynical invisible man thriller is a case of a perfectly good genre flick suffocated by the constrictions of the wrong genre. In updating the classic sci-fi fantasy of invisibility, Verhoeven has chosen to spin the concept into a mean-spirited, gore-splattered stalker flick. Bacon plays the supremely arrogant and terminally obnoxious super-genius in charge of a secret government research project. Zapping himself transparent was the easy part; getting back is the problem, and the longer he remains invisible, the more sinister his behavior becomes. Beyond the flimsy characters and plot, the film boasts a flashy production design and some of the coolest digital flourishes ever conjured (the grotesque makeup effects are sickeningly good, too). Typically, the film is a technological marvel, but we expected something with a just bit more substance from the man who delivered RoboCop and The Fourth Man. And Showgirls. (Just kidding.)