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Hollow Man
Columbia/Tri-Star // R
List Price: $24.95 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
Stop and think for a minute: when was the last time you saw an invisible man movie? Before "Hollow Man", I believe the last one that crossed my path was Chevy Chase's epic "Memoirs of an Invisible Man", and I think I saw something with Bob Denver on TV a few years back. Anyway, with other neglected horror subgenres making a comeback -- I never thought I'd see another decent haunted house movie or mummy flick -- I guess it was only natural that the invisible man's time has come.
The Pentagon has invested heavily in invisibility, complete with a top-notch team of scientists and the traditional secret underground laboratory. The process of turning creatures invisible turned out to be fairly trivial; it's the reversion to visibility that proved to be the most difficult. With a slew of successes with test animals and the fear that the government will soon take over the project, project leader Sebastian Caine (Kevin Bacon) decides to test the serum on himself, against the recommendations of his team. Things don't go according to plan, and Caine spends more time than anticipated as an invisible man. The experience starts to take a toll on his mind, and Caine starts to indulge his violent fantasies on those around him...
I haven't seen a Paul Verhoeven movie that I disliked, and "Hollow Man" has all those traits that make his action films so appealing to me -- eye-popping special effects, massive explosions, graphic violence, brief nudity, and enough intelligence to not seem dumb though not going too far in the other direction. No, "Hollow Man" isn't a meaningful film full of allegories and abstract symbolism, but I think it's safe to say that anyone who enjoyed the sci-fi/action of "Robocop" and "Total Recall" will get a kick out of it.
Video: Beautiful. "Hollow Man", with an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and enhanced for widescreen televisions, stands out as one of the most spectacular-looking discs I've seen in the past year. No noticeable grain or edge enhancement in the detailed, crystal clear image, which features deep blacks, accurate fleshtones, and no color bleeding. There's nothing negative I can say at all about this reference-quality video.
Audio: Nearly as remarkable as the video is the Dolby Digital 5.1 EX audio, which is also reference-quality. Surrounds are used very frequently and extremely effectively, though never seeming overused or 'gimmicky'. "Hollow Man" does exactly what an audio track should do -- it sucked me in and never let up, really immersing me in the film. Just incredible...definite demo material. A Dolby Surround track is also included, along with a French dub and English and French subtitles.
Supplements: Lots of stuff.
There are two alternate audio tracks -- the first is a commentary with Verhoeven, Bacon, and screenwriter Andrew Marlowe, and the other is an isolated score, with commentary from prolific composer Jerry Goldsmith during the silent bits.
"Hollow Man: Anatomy Of A Thriller" is a slightly-better-than-usual HBO: First Look featurette. Although "Anatomy Of A Thriller" includes quite a bit of behind-the-scenes footage and some information on the effects, it doesn't begin to compare to "Fleshing Out The Hollow Man", a collection of 13 featurettes. Running close to 40 minutes total, each featurette looks at a specific scene or type of effect. The last couple of pages of featurettes under "Fleshing Out The Hollow Man" have computer effect progressions and storyboard comparisons, which grabbed my interest.
The progression trend continues with "VFX Picture In Picture Comparisons", where three selected scenes are shown as they were filmed, with Kevin Bacon in a full-body blue suit, along with a small window showing the final version with all the effects added in.
Three extended versions of scenes from the film feature commentary from Verhoeven, though in videotaped segments rather than the usual audio variety. I kind of preferred the added brutality of the second scene, "Sebastian Attack", and I still got the impression that there was footage from that scene that wasn't included...it didn't seem very smooth, particularly with Verhoeven's interview segments interspersed throughout.
Finally, there are the usual talent bios and a trailer gallery. By far, my favorite supplement on the entire disc was the "Final Fantasy" trailer. I've downloaded small videos online with bits of footage, but seeing a pristine trailer on a big TV is an entirely different experience. I remember seeing "The Waterboy" with a bunch of other Star Wars fans for the sole purpose of seeing the trailer, and I wonder if the inclusion of the Final Fantasy trailer will drive sales of this DVD. Anyway, the other trailers in the gallery are "A Few Good Men", "Starship Troopers", a "Hollow Man" teaser, and the theatrical trailer for "Hollow Man".
Conclusion: "Hollow Man" is a decent blend of sci-fi and action with a spectacular presentation on DVD and a very reasonable MSRP of $24.95. I'd lavish the disc with praise even without the supplements, but with all that added in... Highly recommended as a rental or a purchase.
The Pentagon has invested heavily in invisibility, complete with a top-notch team of scientists and the traditional secret underground laboratory. The process of turning creatures invisible turned out to be fairly trivial; it's the reversion to visibility that proved to be the most difficult. With a slew of successes with test animals and the fear that the government will soon take over the project, project leader Sebastian Caine (Kevin Bacon) decides to test the serum on himself, against the recommendations of his team. Things don't go according to plan, and Caine spends more time than anticipated as an invisible man. The experience starts to take a toll on his mind, and Caine starts to indulge his violent fantasies on those around him...
I haven't seen a Paul Verhoeven movie that I disliked, and "Hollow Man" has all those traits that make his action films so appealing to me -- eye-popping special effects, massive explosions, graphic violence, brief nudity, and enough intelligence to not seem dumb though not going too far in the other direction. No, "Hollow Man" isn't a meaningful film full of allegories and abstract symbolism, but I think it's safe to say that anyone who enjoyed the sci-fi/action of "Robocop" and "Total Recall" will get a kick out of it.
Video: Beautiful. "Hollow Man", with an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and enhanced for widescreen televisions, stands out as one of the most spectacular-looking discs I've seen in the past year. No noticeable grain or edge enhancement in the detailed, crystal clear image, which features deep blacks, accurate fleshtones, and no color bleeding. There's nothing negative I can say at all about this reference-quality video.
Audio: Nearly as remarkable as the video is the Dolby Digital 5.1 EX audio, which is also reference-quality. Surrounds are used very frequently and extremely effectively, though never seeming overused or 'gimmicky'. "Hollow Man" does exactly what an audio track should do -- it sucked me in and never let up, really immersing me in the film. Just incredible...definite demo material. A Dolby Surround track is also included, along with a French dub and English and French subtitles.
Supplements: Lots of stuff.
There are two alternate audio tracks -- the first is a commentary with Verhoeven, Bacon, and screenwriter Andrew Marlowe, and the other is an isolated score, with commentary from prolific composer Jerry Goldsmith during the silent bits.
"Hollow Man: Anatomy Of A Thriller" is a slightly-better-than-usual HBO: First Look featurette. Although "Anatomy Of A Thriller" includes quite a bit of behind-the-scenes footage and some information on the effects, it doesn't begin to compare to "Fleshing Out The Hollow Man", a collection of 13 featurettes. Running close to 40 minutes total, each featurette looks at a specific scene or type of effect. The last couple of pages of featurettes under "Fleshing Out The Hollow Man" have computer effect progressions and storyboard comparisons, which grabbed my interest.
The progression trend continues with "VFX Picture In Picture Comparisons", where three selected scenes are shown as they were filmed, with Kevin Bacon in a full-body blue suit, along with a small window showing the final version with all the effects added in.
Three extended versions of scenes from the film feature commentary from Verhoeven, though in videotaped segments rather than the usual audio variety. I kind of preferred the added brutality of the second scene, "Sebastian Attack", and I still got the impression that there was footage from that scene that wasn't included...it didn't seem very smooth, particularly with Verhoeven's interview segments interspersed throughout.
Finally, there are the usual talent bios and a trailer gallery. By far, my favorite supplement on the entire disc was the "Final Fantasy" trailer. I've downloaded small videos online with bits of footage, but seeing a pristine trailer on a big TV is an entirely different experience. I remember seeing "The Waterboy" with a bunch of other Star Wars fans for the sole purpose of seeing the trailer, and I wonder if the inclusion of the Final Fantasy trailer will drive sales of this DVD. Anyway, the other trailers in the gallery are "A Few Good Men", "Starship Troopers", a "Hollow Man" teaser, and the theatrical trailer for "Hollow Man".
Conclusion: "Hollow Man" is a decent blend of sci-fi and action with a spectacular presentation on DVD and a very reasonable MSRP of $24.95. I'd lavish the disc with praise even without the supplements, but with all that added in... Highly recommended as a rental or a purchase.
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