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Director Paul Verhoeven (Starship Troopers) tackles the invisible-man theme with gusto in The Hollow Man, a fanciful sci-fi opus rendered believable by virtue of its eye-popping, state-of-the-art special effects. Kevin Bacon stars as a brilliant but arrogant scientist who becomes the first human subject to whom an invisibility serum is successfully administered. When his research team, which includes former girlfriend Elisabeth Shue and romantic rival Josh Brolin, fails to restore him to visibility, Bacon becomes unhinged and vents his murderous rage on terrified co-workers. Verhoeven hews closely to well-established plot devices and familiar characterizations -- Bacon reacts to his plight just as Claude Rains did in 1933's The Invisible Man -- but Hollow Man achieves greater plausibility thanks to superior visual effects, the creations of which are detailed in both a full-length documentary and several behind-the-scenes featurettes included in Columbia Tri Star's Special Edition DVD. The elaborately produced disc also includes factoid-crammed commentaries by Verhoeven, Bacon, and composer Jerry Goldsmith, who talks about crafting the film's eerie musical score. Verhoeven also provides commentary for three creepy scenes deleted from the film's final cut. VFX picture-in-picture comparisons and DVD-ROM web links help flesh out this comprehensive, imaginatively designed package. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

In this sci-fi thriller, a man and a woman must fend off a killer whom they cannot see. Scientist Sebastian Caine (Kevin Bacon) is working with a secret military research team headed by Dr. Kramer (William Devane), assigned to create new intelligence technology. With the help of his colleagues Linda McKay (Elisabeth Shue) and Matt Kensington (Josh Brolin), Sebastian has been developing a serum that makes people invisible. The formula is new and unstable, but after a risky but successful test on an ape, an impatient Sebastian, under pressure from Kramer, decides to try it on himself. It works, but no one counted on the side effects; unable to reverse the serum's effects, an invisible Sebastian goes insane, and begins pursuing Linda (his former girlfriend) and Matt (Linda's current beau) in a fog of homicidal rage. Directed by Paul Verhoeven, Hollow Man also features Kim Dickens, Mary Randle, Joey Slotnick, and Greg Grunberg. Mark Deming

Product Details

• UPC: 043396089976
• Source: SONY PICTURES
• Region Code: 1
• Presentation: Wide Screen, Superbit digital transfer
• Sound: Dolby Digital, DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound
• Editions: Special Edition
• Time: 1:52:00
• Sales Rank: 58,775

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