Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

Hollow Man 2 Blu-ray Movie Review

Sleepier Hollow

Reviewed by Michael Reuben March 29, 2013

Note: Hollow Man 2 is currently available only in a bundle from Mill Creek Home Entertainment.

Despite mostly dreadful reviews, Paul Verhoeven's Hollow Man managed to turn a profit at the worldwide box office on the strength of its impressive effects. Lesser films with worse performance have been given a sequel, which means that Hollow Man 2 was almost inevitable. Six years later, it arrived and went straight to video.

Verhoeven tried to use invisibility as a metaphor for the erasure of moral restraint, so that an invisible man could become a case study in a civilized individual's reversion to barbarism. He failed, but at least he tried. The director of Hollow Man 2, Swiss-born Claudio Fäh, had no such lofty ambition. Working from a story by the first film's co-writer, Gary Scott Thompson, and a script by sequel specialist Joel Soisson (who has written follow-ups to Mimic, The Prophecy and Highlander, among others—hey, it's a living), Fäh had nothing more on his mind than cheap thrills. In some ways, that makes Fäh more honest than Verhoeven, who has made a career out of delivering truly nasty cheap thrills while taking on serious subjects as a sideline (feminism in Basic Instinct, fascism in Starship Troopers). Still, Verhoeven is a talented visual stylist, while Fäh is merely competent, and Verhoeven's track record has been good enough to grant him access to big budgets, while Fäh has yet to persuade anyone to entrust him with major funding.

Hollow Man 2 returned to what worked for Claude Rains in the original The Invisible Man, which was tossing people and objects about at the hands of an unseen force. The bulk of the film's effects shots involved wire removal. When Fäh needed to show star Christian Slater turning invisible, he did so in flashback, using quick cuts to the much more expensive effects of the original Hollow Man. Because he is invisible from the outset, Slater has even less screen time in the sequel than Kevin Bacon had in the original. Fäh's best "effect" was casting Peter Facinelli as the film's true lead before the actor was well known for roles in the Twilight series and Nurse Jackie. Facinelli is a genuinely talented performer, who lends Hollow Man 2 what little credibility it can claim.

Hollow Man 2 wastes no time on setup. A Seattle-based scientist, Dr. Devin Villiers (John Shaw), is attacked by an unseen assailant at a fancy dress military function, where his odd behavior is initially attributed to intoxication. In fact, it's the work of Michael Griffin (Slater), the subject of a top-secret experiment in which Villiers has been participating, using Sebastian Caine's research from six years earlier. Apparently not everything was destroyed in the conflagration that concluded the first film. In fact, Caine's experiments have been appropriated by the usual non-specific conspiracy of government, military and corporate interests that so often serves as the perfect villain in movies and television (see, generally, almost any season of 24). The heads of the project are a falsely avuncular scientist, Dr. William Reisner (David McIlwraith), and a ramrod military man, Col. Gavin Bishop (William MacDonald).

Called to the scene to investigate the disturbance, Seattle police detective Frank Turner (Facinelli) is shocked when he is almost immediately ousted from jurisdiction by military authorities. Turner is even more frustrated when the military enlists the aid of Seattle P.D. for duties he considers menial—in Turner's case, guarding a scientist, Maggie Dalton (Laura Regan), who used to work on Dr. Reisner's project. Unbeknownst to Turner, Dalton has become the invisible Griffin's prime target, because only she knows how to synthesize something called "the buffer", which Turner desperately needs. The nature and purpose of "the buffer" are explained as the film proceeds, but Hollow Man 2 never succeeds as well as the first film at the essential sci-fi task of creating a plausible explanation for impossible science.

Hollow Man 2 quickly devolves into an extended chase film, with Turner and Dalton on the run, alternately from Griffin and from the same authorities trying to capture him (because, of course, the cop knows too much and the scientist has somehow become expendable). In the end, they're forced to take desperate measures that are obviously intended to lay the groundwork for a third film. We can only be grateful that Hollow Man 3 continues to remain invisible.

"Griffin", by the way, was also the name of Claude Rains's transparent madman in the 1933 film The Invisible Man directed by James Whale from the novel by H.G. Wells, who originated and named the character. Given both the reference and the film's style, The Invisible Man 2 would have been a more accurate title. Even the bandages worn by the figure in the original DVD cover art suggest the affinity, since the character named Griffin in Hollow Man 2 never wears bandages.

Hollow Man 2 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Hollow Man 2 was shot on film by Canadian cinematographer Peter Wunstorf, who recently shot the first season of the AMC series The Killing and has worked as a camera operator on such projects as Brokeback Mountain. Mill Creek's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray features an unusually dark image that is somewhat lacking in contrast. The black levels are certainly very good, and what you can see is detailed enough, but even in brightly lit interiors, you're aware that the image is unusually dim. Since the film went direct to video, there is no theatrical experience with which to compare the Blu-ray viewing. The dimness may have been a deliberate strategy to disguise economies in the production design. In any case, it doesn't interfere with one's ability to follow the action on screen.

Colors are generally muted and dull, which may simply be intended to reflect the prevailing weather in the Pacific Northwest. The film's grain pattern appears natural and undisturbed, and although some light edge enhancement can be detected here and there, it's certainly not enough to cause noticeable ghosting or make the image "pop" off the screen. Noise and other transfer-induced anomalies were not in evidence, nor did I notice any compression issues. As is often the case with Mill Creek, the image is adequate but not impressive (once you get used to the darkness).

Hollow Man 2 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The film's original 5.1 mix, presented as DTS-HD MA 5.1, is a serviceable affair with clear dialogue, a basic sense of ambiance for environments such as the opening formal function, the Seattle police station and the crowded train station where a key meeting takes place. The sound of rainfall that briefly renders Griffin visible is also effective. Overall, though, Hollow Man 2 is lacking in the kind of subtle sound editing that created the creepy presence of an invisible man in the first film, because so little of it occurs in enclosed spaces where an unseen presence stalks an unsuspecting prey. The forgettable score is by Marcus Trumpp, who would do much better work a few years later for the two Mesrine films.

Hollow Man 2 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

As is customary with Mill Creek, no features are included. The original Sony DVD released in 2006 included an "Inside Hollow Man 2" featurette, a special effects featurette, a storyboard to screen featurette and a storyboard gallery. For anyone so inclined, that DVD is still in print.

Hollow Man 2 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Few people would buy a Blu-ray with just Hollow Man 2, but Mill Creek Entertainment is betting that a value-priced package of the sequel and the original film will appeal to the thrift-conscious shopper. You be the judge.