Leofwine_draca HOLLOW MAN wasn't one of Paul Verhoeven's best movies, so when I saw that this sequel had no returning cast or crew from the original, I thought it could work both ways. On one hand, a totally fresh start might have meant a breathe of originality for this film; on the other, this could have been a cheap and trashy rip-off that just goes to prove the 'law of diminishing returns'. Sadly, HOLLOW MAN II is for the most part the latter film, a boring B-movie with only a few individual scenes and moments to recommend it.This time around, Christian Slater stars as the invisible man, and it's a rather odd choice, I have to say. Slater's better known for comedic or psychotically funny turns and he just doesn't cut it as a homicidal maniac, seeming too cute and cuddly for the role. He still stands head and shoulders against the rest of the cast, who are universally diabolical (Facinelli looks like a student rather than a detective, and don't get me started on the awfully wooden Laura Regan, who previously appeared in MY LITTLE EYE). Things do begin well here, with a stand-out murder scene in which a scientist is beaten and killed by Slater, jumping straight into the story. The blood sprays all over in this graphically nasty moment and it reminded me of how GHOST SHIP started with a similarly great opening before going downhill.After that, there's a long and needlessly protracted set-piece in which Slater attacks a house and a SWAT team, which really tries the patience. The tacked-in scene in which he goes after a young, horny couple is only included to show the obligatory breasts, and I had to laugh at the ridiculousness of it (why does he keep running back and forth in front of the camera like that?). From here on in, there's a scene in a hospital that recalls TERMINATOR 2, a scene in an abandoned warehouse, and then the final scene in which two invisible men duke it out in the rain. Yeah, that last bit was quite fun in a cheesy way, although I'm so tired of these unstoppable killers who get up after falling from a first-floor window onto concrete and who shrug off a blow to the temple with a fire extinguisher as if it were a mere gnat bite. The special effects are adequate for this production, apart from the absolutely awful effects in the scene in which Regan is carried through a shopping mall, having conveniently stripped to her underwear beforehand (not something I wanted to see, I have to say). Let's just hope they don't bother with a HOLLOW MAN III...

SnoopyStyle An invisible man attacks Dr. Devin Villiers demanding something called buffer. Villiers tells him that Maggie Dalton (Laura Regan) should have buffers and he kills Villiers. Police detectives Frank Turner (Peter Facinelli) and Lisa Martinez investigates but is soon pulled off the case. They are reduced to guarding Maggie. The invisible man attacks killing Martinez. Dr. William Reisner (David McIlwraith) and Col. Gavin Bishop (William MacDonald) had set up the trap with Maggie as bait. Turner with Dalton goes on the run from both the military and the invisible man. Maggie reveals that a DOD program code name Silent Knight run by Reisner had picked up from the previous failed experiment. Maggie had created a buffer to keep the invisible subjects from dying. Special forces member Michael Griffin (Christian Slater) had been turned invisible but is now on the run.This actually started well considering this is strictly straight to DVD. Although the teens doing night vision sex tape is pretty stupid. I have no idea why the invisible man was in that room other than to see some boobs. The voyeuristic aspect of the original is still bleeding into this movie. This one needed to go all out action, but the money isn't there for that. Christian Slater is headlining but he's barely in this. He does some voice work but his character is invisible. The best option was probably for this to go far more into horror if they can't afford big time action.

ctomvelu1 Kevin Bacon and Christian Slater worked their way up in the Hollywood ranks at roughly the same time. Sort of like Jeff Daniels and Bill Pullman. Or Bill Pullman and Bill Paxton. But there's no excuse for having Slater stand in for Bacon in this dull sequel to HOLLOW MAN. A government killer is on the loose, and he's invisible. A detective and a scientist are trying to deal with the situation, but end up on the run from the mad killer. That's about all she wrote. This is a Canadian-lensed quickie, and unlike the original, the "invisible man" scenes are laughable instead of scary. Slater has appeared in some real dogs in his career, but this one takes top prize. It's actually a waste to have a guy like Slater, who can act when he wants to, attached to this in-name-only sequel, but Hollywood was thinking name value. If you can't get Bacon back, why not use Slater? Dumb logic. The dialog is atrocious, too. Skip it. I hate to think of how many millions of dollars were thrown away on this puppy.

ctomvelu-1 HOLLOWMAN 2, an STV, continues the story of a secret government experiment to create an invisible man who then might be used as a weapon of war. Or for peeping at naked women. Or something. Everyone seems to have forgotten about a little issue of insanity that goes along with being invisible. I guess no one reads H.G. Wells anymore. This time around, the invisible fellow is played by Christian Slater, but he is seen so little I figure they could have hired anyone to play the role. On the other hand, he is the only name actor connected to this slightly wobbly sequel. But Kevin Bacon he is not. Bacon kept the original HOLLOW MAN from sinking without a trace. Interestingly enough, this sequel adheres pretty closely to H.G. Wells' story, 'The Invisible Man," which is a plus. It also is fast-paced, violent and occasionally suspenseful, another plus. The FX are kept to a minimum, which is probably for the best -- at one point, there is a fight in the rain between two invisible men that is likely to get the viewer chuckling, if the viewer has imbibed enough beer beforehand. The cast is mostly young and inexperienced but eager to please, obviously to draw the under-30 audience. The bad guys, including a senator and Army colonel, are older. No surprise there. Peter Facinelli, a dead ringer for David Arquette but easily 10 years his junior, is the hero, a cop caught up in the search for the missing invisible guy. The film is one long chase, which wears a little thin after an hour. Fortunately, HOLLOW MAN 2 is barely 90 minutes long and is over almost before it has begun -- that is, assuming the viewer has gotten into the swing of things. It also has one of the best and touching endings I have seen in a horror pic in years. Just beware the likelihood of an endless string of STV sequels.