Directed by: Claudio Faeh
Starring: Peter Facinelli (The Scorpion King), Laura Regan (They), Christian Slater (Alone in the Dark)
Buy it from Amazon!
THE FLICK
It’s Hollow Man! With a 2! And Christian Slater!
What’s that? You need MORE information?
*sigh*
Fine.
Christian Slater plays Michael Griffin, a former government assassin turned invisible rogue agent, thanks to an experimental invisibility serum that is slowly killing him. Michael is desperately trying to track down Maggie Dalton (Regan), a brilliant and beautiful research biologist who is the only person who can save Michael’s life. The government decides to use Maggie to lure Griffin back into custody, but luckily for her she is under the protection of Detective Frank Turner (Facinelli).
On the run from both the police and the government, Turner and Maggie manage to elude Griffin, but he soon catches up to them. Using Maggie’s sister, Heather (Jessica Harmon), Griffin lures Turner and Maggie into a trap, and Maggie falls into his clutches. In danger of being arrested, Turner is forced to make a deadly choice; he must take the invisibility serum and becomes a Hollow Man himself, leading to a rain-soaked confrontation between him and the deadly insane Griffin.
Hollow Man 2 – starring the offspring of Sandy Duncan and one of the super advanced
mecha from the end of A.I. and…
THE JUDGMENT
Hollow Man 2 isn’t necessarily a bad movie, it’s just not all that great either. It’s a decent film that is unfortunately a bit dull and plodding at first. Thankfully, it actually manages to become more and more engaging as it speeds along, and leads up to what is a surprisingly exciting and involving climax.
…the result of a botched cloning experiment using the DNA of Tom Cruise and
David Arquette.
The film rises above the usual DTV trash thanks to some decent production values and some rather impressive practical and visual effects. Unfortunately, the acting leaves a lot to be desired; Facinelli and Regan aren’t really all that compelling as the leads, and Slater is sort of wasted in what amounts to little more than a glorified cameo.
There’s some decent gore, though it is few and far between. The visual effects are sparse, but well-done. Most of the effects are practical, and though they are pretty low-tech and simple, they work and really manage to engage the viewer on a visceral level. Additionally, the make-up effects are very good, especially during a sequence in which the two leads meet yet another Hollow Man who is essentially a walking tumor.
Hollow Man 2 is extremely different in tone from its predecessor, in that it is nowhere near as over the top and crazy as the original. Of course, considering that the first film in the franchise was directed by Paul Verhoven, there’s no way a DTV sequel helmed by director-for-hire can live up to it’s reputation. So rather than try to ape the style or tone of the original, the filmmakers wisely decided to go a different route, and for the most part, it works.
Pretty much everyone agreed that the neighborhood wasn’t the same after Akira moved in.
THE SIGHT AND SOUND
The film is presented in anamorphic widescreen, and the picture is very nice, having been mastered in high def. It looks as though filmed on 35 mm, and the overall look of the movie benefits from that, setting it apart from other direct to video efforts.
For all you sound junkies out there, you get a 5.1 Dolby Digital mix with English subtitles. So you’re sure to hear the dulcet tones of Christian Slater, and you won’t have to worry about misunderstanding him.
The Dementor in The Fast and the Furious: Hogwart Drift.
THE EXTRAS
Not a lot, but what’s here is decent enough. There’s a making of doc that is fairly informative, if not all that in-depth, and it’s worth watching just to see Christian Slater conducting interviews with his entire head covered in a mask and sunglasses. There’s also a featurette on the visual effects, a storyboard to scene comparison, and a storyboard gallery.
There are also trailers for When a Stranger Calls (2006), Ultraviolet, The Dark, Hostel, The Fog (2005), Freedomland, Basic Instinct 2, and The Amityville Horror (2005). So basically, expect to have your nuts punched clean off by the previews.
Christian Slater tells the Brits exactly what he thinks of them.
THE LOWDOWN
Hollow Man 2
is definitely worth a rental, even if you’ve never seen the first one,
but that’s about it. It’s a fairly enjoyable and fun genre flick, but
its rewatchability is probably limited.
Once again, no joke here. This guy just looks EXACTLY like my friend, Terry, and I thought
it would give him a little thrill if I gave him a shout out in the review. Hey Terry!