Working with the team of anatomy and biomechanics advisors, the makers of Hollow Man have implemented the gradual disappearance of a living being, layer by layer. Skin disappears first, baring the musculature, skeleton and the nervous system, which slowly dissolve into nothingness. The main character, Sebastian Caine, played by Kevin Bacon, is the archetypal mad scientist, with charm and leader's charisma, but with megalomania and paranoia waiting in the back of his genius mind. His research team works in a hush-hush lab, and has had success with making animals disappear, but they are having trouble bringing them back to visibility. That problem is solved at the start of the movie, and Caine arrogantly volunteers to be the first invisible human. After attempts to bring him back fail due to the subtle differences in the human DNA, he becomes restless, deviant and tries to destroy all evidence of his visible self, including the members of his team.

What starts as a good-natured science experiment, slowly evolves into a claustrophobic suspense thriller, which leads to a truly exciting finale. The foundation for such a transformation is laid in the development of main characters, in a script that's very believable, if we ignore the fact that the science is reduced to the level of a Nintendo game. Movie about the invisible man cannot be realistic in that sense, and Hollow Man doesn't waste time trying to justify or explain itself. Elisabeth Shue stands out from the supporting cast, actually nailing the top spot in the credits as Linda McKay, Caine's former lover, but still his right hand at their mutual enterprise. She is a tough, intelligent woman, who knows how to make an electromagnet to save her life, but also has the intensity as a scientist and passion as a lover. So, even though Hollow Man relies heavily on the dazzling special effects, much in the same way as Matrix, it has a decent story to offer, along with some good acting, nice scares and more than a few laughs. We can't expect much more in August.