I put off watching Hollow Man for the longest time for a variety of reasons. Well initially it was a variety of reasons then it was about me not being able to find it to watch. I finally found it to watch and made sure to do so. I was surprised by the cast. There are so many actors in this where I knew them by their face rather than by name. That’s not even mentioning the visual effects that still look impressive over twenty years on. I will also say that I was surprised by the amount of sexual violence throughout the movie. If you find that triggering I would avoid this movie.
Gary Scott Thompson and Andrew W. Marlowe came up with the story based on The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells, with Marlowe writing the script. Paul Verhoeven directed Hollow Man and it has some of what you would expect from a Verhoeven movie. I was surprised by how quickly the character of Sebastian Caine became corrupted by invisibility. Almost as if he was barely kept in line.
Kevin Bacon makes for a pretty good villain. Even with him not being visible for a good portion of the movie, his presences is felt throughout. He makes for a great foil for Elisabeth Shue and Josh Brolin. Shue was a great protagonist and played a character that was the perfect counterpoint to Bacon’s character. The chemistry they had made them so enthralling to watch. Kim Dickens, Greg Grunberg, Joey Slotnick, Mary Randle, and William Devane all make for an amazing supporting cast.
The effects used throughout Hollow Man are impressive. While the visual effects look dated what they were able to accomplish at the time is still impressive. There are practical effects that always stand up better than CG. Jerry Goldsmith did the music for the movie. The score is as fantastic as you would expect from him.
Hollow Man is an interesting take on the Invisible Man story. I know that there was at least one straight to video sequel to the movie, though I have no idea how connected it is to this movie. Like I mentioned at the start of this review I was surprised by the amount of sexual violence. That’s really my only problem because it will affect people. Hollow Man is available to stream on HBO Max. I give Hollow Man 7 Twinkies out of 10.