Hollow Man UMD-Video For PSP Review

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Title: Hollow Man

Region: One

Genre: Sci-Fi Horror

Stars: Kevin Bacon, Elisabeth Shue, Josh Brolin, Kim Dickens, Greg Grunberg, Joey Slotnick, and Mary Randle

Writer: Andrew W. Marlowe

Based On A Story By: Gary Scott Thompson and Andrew W. Marlowe

Director: Paul Verhoeven

Feature length: 113 minutes

Extras: Previews

Languages: English and French Stereo Sound

Subtitles: English and Korean Language Subtitles

Packaging: Keep Case

Chapter Stops: 28

Sound: Stereo Sound

Year of Theatrical Release: 2000/UMD Release: 2005

Theatrical Distributor: Columbia Pictures

Home Video Distributor: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

MPAA Rating: R

Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera

Deep within a converted bunker, Dr, Sebastian Caine (Kevin Bacon) and a team of talented scientists have been experimenting on turning a living being invisible and then back to visibility on behalf of the Pentagon. When Caine has a breakthrough and enables the reversion of a gorilla back to materialization, he immediately has himself rendered invisible, but unlike the primate before him, the antidote does not return him back into a visible solid form. After weeks Sebastian begins to go stir crazy and as the power of being invisible begins to seduce him, he turns malevolent and vengeful to a point where he is a threat to everyone involved with the project and the unknowing world.

"Hollow Man" had the potential to be one of the best invisible man films ever made, but unfortunately the film falls short in a few areas. For instance, the film is too claustrophobic for its own good. More instances of Sebastian invisible and out in the real world would have and should have been included to take advantage of the implications this situation presents. Another area is that Bacon's character is never likable so we never feel any sympathy for him as he begins to go psychotic and Josh Brolin plays one of the wimpiest male leads ever on screen. Thank God Elisabeth Shue is there to save the day or he would be dead. Finally, why is it that we can see the serum enter the veins of the invisible characters and yet we cannot see food being ingested or in the case of the feature, regurgitated from his body. Not that I want to see vomit, but realistically, anything entering the body should be visible in the invisible being as established by the scenes of reversion in the feature. Therefore the film does not stay consistent to the rules it sets up, which in science fiction and dark fantasy as well as all other genres is just as bad as a continuity error or crossing the camera line in filmmaking. Look for sexy Rhona Mitra of “Boston Legal” as the woman Bacon’s character lusts after from his window to hers.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment delivers a sharp UMD edition of "Hollow Man" with a pristine anamorphic widescreen picture in a (1.85:1) aspect ratio. The soundtracks include an impressive English Stereo Soundtrack and a French Language Stereo Soundtrack is also encoded onto the UMD along with English and Korean Language Subtitles.

None of the extra value features included on both the “Special Edition” or “Superbit Deluxe Edition” are included on the UMD, which is a shame even given whatever limitations the UMD format might have. I mean Paul Verhoeven’s feature length audio commentaries are among the most entertaining to listen to on DVD. Couldn’t that track been included without any loss of sound and picture quality? I mean “Hollow Man” is he kind of film that is fun to watch on the PSP especially if you are on a long road trip or something. Call it portable popcorn cinema or PPC for the PSP. Previews for “Bogeyman”, “Once Upon A Time In Mexico”, and “Resident Evil: Apocalypse” are encoded onto the UMD and the interactive menus are nicely rendered and easy to navigate.

“Hollow Man” is available on UMD for PSP now at retailers on and offline courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

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