Well folks, Last night it seems they held a test screening for HOLLOW MAN, the Paul Verhoeven film that... well I'm pretty darn jazzed to see. You know what I love about this review? The part where the viewer feels odd for rooting for Kevin Bacon to do the sick as hell things he does in the movie. Yeah, it's sick stuff, but Verhoeven never sides with NORMAL people. Think about it. When you see the behind the scenes footage on STARSHIP TROOPERS, he's acting the part of the bugs terrorizing his actors. I'm sure in ROBOCOP he acted out the ED-209 parts as well. I believe that it's not a sickness in Verhoeve, but rather a very very intensely smart manuveur to make the audience understand and even condone the actions that they condemn ordinarily. He makes the audience consider the flip side, possibly agree with it, then... forces them to come to their senses. This and CHICKEN RUN are now the two summer movies that I haven't seen, that I most want to see. Here's Erik Lanshof and his review of the EXTREMELY ROUGH PRINT of HOLLOW MAN. From what I hear, most of the effects and digital removal of Kevin Bacon are still a month or so away from completion, so in this print they were seeing Kevin Bacon in his blue smurf out fit, his green giant outfit and his black ninja assassin outfit which they used to isolate bacon in different sequences. Why black? Because in an underwater scene, neither blue or green worked in isolating him for removal.
Hey Harry what's up,
I can't believe i'm writing this to you. You always read those reviews on your site from so called test screenings, and you always think - 'yeah right'. What are test screenings? Why don't i ever get to go to them? Well yesterday, shock horror at the ABC cinema here in San Ohio, they held a screening for Hollow Man.
And guess what? The producer was there, Douglas Wick, who introduced himself, and said if anyone wrote into that 'Harry guy' or those other sites on the 'bloody internet', he will personally take some formulae, get invisible and hurt them (he was joking).
The film itself, seemed like a major rough cut. It wasn't edited properly at all, and there were sometimes huge gaps between scenes of just darkness. We were warned of this from the start, but still it didn't bode too well with the audience.
The running time of the film was also kind of long - almost 3 hours. This will be cut down to 2 hours, apparently according to Mr. Wick. This film, was simply the scariest, heart pumping thrill ride of a movie i have seen. Absolutely so cool. And when i say Scary, i mean CREEPY SCARY.
*Spoliers*
The film is about Kevin Bacon and a bunch of scientists, including the crap Elizabeth Shue, who discover a formulae to make you invisible. However, they get a conscience and realize the implications of what they are going to unleash on the world, and decide not to give it to the government, until they 'test it more'. Bacon undergoes the test. He becomes invisible, and then everything changes. He gets off on the power. And then you have all hell break loose. He goes around raping people, stalking on Elizabeth Shue ... totally messed up.
The worst thing about it, and where Verhoeven has got it wrong. Is that even though Bacon does all these horrible things, you still root for him, to get away with it all. Mainly due to an annoying performance from Shue, and the other scientists. Maybe Verhoeven in his sick twisted way wanted this. Then there are the effects. Truely on a whole 'nother level. Especially at the end, where an invisible Bacon well let's say i don't want to spoil a scene involving the women being raped - you have to see it to be believed.
You have to see this film this summer. Erik Lanshof, who now lives in CA.
