what would you do if no one could see you ? 
well , if you're a super smart bio-molecular research scientist working for the military , you'd grope a co-worker and rough-up your neighbor from across the street . 
that's right . 
of all the non-criminal possibilities brought about by rendering oneself invisible , in " hollow man " kevin bacon's character opts to commit sex crimes . 
er , it's kevin bacon who plays the super smart military bio-molecular research scientist ? 
something sounds horribly wrong already . 
but this is a paul verhoeven film , and the sleazepin director of such open-crotch classics as " basic instinct " and the infamous " showgirls " never lets a little credibility get in the way of his voyeuristic tendencies which , when you come right down to it , is all this film is about . 
 " hollow man " features a string of hapless , c-list actors ( among them bacon , elisabeth shue , josh brolin , and kim dickens ) in a grade-z plot with a lot of special effects that , frankly , don't look much better than those used in the 1933 version of " the invisible man . " 
oh bacon glistens when he gets wet all right and looks like a rather fatty side of cheap flank steak when he's attempting reentry but otherwise it's lots of " thermal " shots and inanimate objects ( elisabeth shue included ) bobbing around without any visible signs of support . 
since invisibility , once achieved , isn't much of an effect ( the actors spend half their time conversing with nobody and the other half of their time talking to each other--it amounts to much of a muchness ) , the director elects to wardrobe all of his female protagonists in loosely-buttoned sweaters so that the minute bacon's character gets invisible he can head straight for them . 
it's as if that fascinating concept--what would you do if no one could see you ? --is 
simply a verhoeven ploy to show some skin . 
as a horror film , " hollow man " is unsophisticated and disturbing ( in its intent , not its achievements ) and not worth your time or your hard-earned dollars . 
it's minor verhoeven--and even that's not saying much--and boy is it hollow . 
