On the plus side however the 2-dimensional characters are engaging, there are one or two great jump-out-of-seat moments, tips of the hat to not only the original movie but also HG Wells' novel "The Invisible Man", effective use of music (which is all new - not a rehash of Goldsmiths original) and an overall sense of fun (That's Executive Producer Paul Verhoeven shining through, I think) - despite the nasty moments!
It has many faults - Christian Slater just ain't up to the job any more (but seems to be enjoying himself), a long and overly-talky middle act, some extremely ropey visual effects (though it has to be said that there are many good ones despite the obviously low budget), a blatant re-use of a scene from the original Hollow Man not-very-well-disguised, and a conclusion that felt very rushed - dare I suggest the budget ran out?
I was pleasantly surprised therefore to find an engaging little movie - very much in the spirit of the first (no brain, no logic, full speed ahead with cardboard characters and a plot straight from the back of a 40-year-old comic). I knew Hollow Man 2 was in production, and as a fan of the first movie I was a little non-plussed to find the sequel getting a Direct-to-DVD release. I thought I would give this a go, after spotting an advert for it in a well-known UK film magazine. Marlowe, Joel Soisson Aka: Hollow Man II Studio: Sony Genres: Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers Actors: Christian Slater, Peter Facinelli, Laura Regan, David McIlwraith, William MacDonald, Sarah Deakins, Jessica Harmon, Sonya Salomaa, Terri Anne Welyki, John Shaw, David Abbott, Hamish Cameron, Colin Lawrence, Zara Taylor, Nolan Gerard Funk, Jamie Bell, Bruce Dawson, Dean Paul Gibson, Dean Redman, Mike Dopud Directors: Claudio Fäh Producers: David Lancaster Writers: Gary Scott Thompson, Andrew W.
Twice the action, twice the thrills and twice the terror - as the two Hollow Men face one another in their spectacular final battle. As Griffin becomes out-of-control, Turner's left with one choice to keep Maggie alive: he must take the invisibility serum and become a Hollow Man himself. Facing a slow and painful death unless given a life saving serum, he hunts down Maggie Dalton (Laura Regan), a beautiful, brilliant research biologist, who is the only person that can keep him alive - but when the government uses her as bait to trap Griffin (Christian Slater), she turns to Frank Turner (Peter Facinelli), a Seattle homicide detective, for protection.