Hollow Man, l'homme sans ombre

I like Verhoeven and his certain level of perversity and lack of inhibitions, but this film is definitely not up to his previous works. It did have potential, there are great visual effects, a promising start and actually the whole first half is interesting. But then the plot starts grinding, the script goes off the rails and Verhoeven tries to entertain the viewer with a killing spree. I could accept seeing Kevin Bacon covered in blood from head to toe only to be squeaky clean a minute later, but what he survives afterwards is something that not even Superman would be able to. There's no logic, plus a bunch of clichés and an ending that's set up several times and built up to extremes – everything I don't like in movies. You can forgive that in a B-movie, but not with a director of Verhoeven’s calibre. (23/05/2004)

Whenever I think about how I would use the power of becoming invisible, I scare myself and feel grateful that nobody has “invented” it yet. The premise is great, but they didn’t quite manage to fully exploit it. For instance, it would have been better if Bacon didn’t look like a dangerous maniac already from the beginning. By the end, the film totally forgets about a deeper message, the villain, in addition to invisibility, gets more superpowers that make him immortal, and the A becomes a B. A very decent B, but the squandered potential is still a shame. (31/01/2011)

Verhoeven, stifled by the producers and cornered by a faceless script, did not completely disappoint. Hints of thoughts about the possibilities of science and how possible it is to get closer to God can indeed be found in the film. However, the film focuses primarily on the action and the impressive work of the special effects artists. The director's classical trademarks such as blood (a little bit of it drips at the end) and stylish violence (a cut rape) are ignored. This a perfect example of how the Hollywood machine has scrapped a unique talent. (23/11/2007)

Paul Verhoeven has made a surprisingly uncontroversial and rather mediocre film that is at least well-crafted. It had the potential to be better — even the screenplay initially remains in quality waters. But the closer it gets to the end, the more it sinks into B-movie blandness. It's saved only by the charismatic Kevin Bacon and solid visual effects. (25/06/2007)

A bit of a crappy ending, otherwise imaginative and quite watchable. It would be worth watching again with a new ending. Then maybe I'd give it a full 5 stars. As it stands, 3.5. (23/05/2011)

Film, which relies on strong cast and decent budget, allowing to showcase a number of demanding tricks. However, in terms of content, it is desperately cliched and shot without spark. By the end, I was already very hesitant. With this crew, much more could undoubtedly have been squeezed out of the subject. Overall impression: 40%. (11/08/2007)

Maybe the weakest Verhoeven film I’ve seen, but still a blast worthy of three and a half stars. The effects are impressive, the action is gripping, Goldsmith's music is darkly frightening... This film made me start to like Kevin Bacon. (18/10/2007)

I'm sorry that the film was not better received by the critics, and it was Paul Verhoeven's last film he directed in American production. It's not a bad movie. It had a high budget, but it shows in how well the visual effects turned out. There are shots that are simply excellent. I am thrilled about this movie, and sometimes I wouldn't mind watching it again. I really had nothing to fear. (05/06/2015)