Hollow Man II (2006) (V)

Director:

Claudio Fäh

Writers (WGA):

Joel Soisson (screenplay)
Gary Scott Thompson (story)

Release Date:

20 June 2006 (Canada)

Genre:

Action | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

There's more to terror than meets the eye...

Plot:

A Seattle detective and a biologist are on the run from a dangerous invisible assassin gone rogue.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | On The Run | Topless Female Nudity | Slit Throat | Stabbed In The Eye

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Christian Slater	...	Michael Griffin
Peter Facinelli	...	Det. Frank Turner
Laura Regan	...	Dr. Maggie Dalton
David McIlwraith	...	Dr. William Reisner
William MacDonald	...	Col. Gavin Bishop
Sarah Deakins	...	Det. Lisa Martinez
Jessica Harmon	...	Heather Dalton
Sonya Salomaa	...	Trophy Wife
Terri Anne Welyki	...	Pearl Girl
John Shaw	...	Dr. Devin Villiers
David Abbott	...	Elderly Husband
Hamish Cameron	...	Washroom Man
Colin Lawrence	...	Captain Rollins
Zara Taylor	...	Ashley
Nolan Gerard Funk	...	Josh (as Nolan Funk)

Also Known As:

Aorato aggigma 2 (Greece) [el]
El hombre sin sombra 2 (Argentina) [es]
Hollow Man 2 (Germany) (TV title) [de]
Hollow Man 2 (France) (DVD title) [fr]
Hollow Man 2 (Sweden) [sv]
L'homme sans ombre 2 (France) [fr]
L'uomo senza ombra 2 (Italy) [it]
O Homem Sem Sombra 2 (Brazil) [pt]

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, some sexuality/nudity and language.

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Australia:MA | Germany:16 | Argentina:16 | Singapore:NC-16 | UK:15 | South Korea:15 (video rating, cut) | South Korea:18 | Sweden:15 | Netherlands:16

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Destination Films

Trivia:

The character's name "Michael Griffin" is a direct reference to the character of "Griffin" from H.G. Wells' 1897 serial novel "The Invisible Man". In Wells' story, Griffin was driven insane by his invisibility - much like the character in this movie.

Goofs:

Continuity: Maggie uses green spray paint so that she can see Michael's arm in order to give him an injection, and a small area of his arm appears in green. But a moment later when she sprays paint into his eyes, there's no paint visible.

Quotes:

Michael Griffin: [Maggie is injecting the supposed cure into an invisible Michael in overalls and sunglasses] Oh, you're a true hero Maggie - Just like me.
Dr. Maggie Dalton: Ok, You got what you wanted...
Michael Griffin: [Grabs Maggie, stands up] Perfection. How many people in their lifetime gets to achieve it? Perfect husband, perfect father, citizen? I'm none of these things... but I am the perfect weapon.
[Takes of glasses, to reveal hollow eyes]
Michael Griffin: And you perfected me...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Inside 'Hollowman 2' (2006) (V)

Soundtrack:

One On One

Surprisingly Effective.....

I thought I would give this a go, after spotting an advert for it in a well-known UK film magazine. 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.

So I wasn't really expecting much...

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). 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?

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!

To the people that are slating this saying "It's not as good as the first, really disappointed" etc etc, I simply have to wonder exactly what they were expecting! Shakespeare this ain't...

But to the people who are open-minded enough to give this an honest go, you will get out exactly what you put into it. It's not Shakespeare, but it certainly is Hollow Man.

If this is the future for the Hollow Man franchise (there is the obligatory - but well executed - set-up for a Hollow Man 3), it could be an awful, awful lot worse.

Bring 'em on!!