Hollow Man II (2006) Review:

It's one thing to make a sequel with different characters but it's another thing to make a sequel with a plot that is so contradictory to its predecessor that it almost seems pointless to even watch. I was not the biggest fan of the first Hollow Man (2000) mostly because of its story. The same goes for this film, however, there a couple elements that still leave this sequel watchable.

Hollow Man 2 continues the story of the first film by involving its characters with an almost identical plot. After the failure of Sebastian Caine as a test subject to test the power of invisibility, the government decided to try out this experiment again. The difference is that they tested it on a well-trained soldier. And guess what; nothings changed! The test subject was Michael Griffin (Christian Slater) and now he's become uncontrollable for anyone to handle.

Peter Facinelli

Someone tell me why making a new invisible villain was such important thing to do? If the test didn't work the first time, what made them think performing the test on another unstable subject was a good idea? This is just another problem child.

To try and contain him, the government sends out task forces to try and capture Griffin but like we all know, predictable as ever, they won't. Along side this, Frank Turner (Peter Facinelli) is sent to protect the doctor, Maggie Dalton (Laura Regan) who performed the experiment on Griffin because now Griffin is after her. As the plot continues, Turner and Dalton will develop a relationship, which will allow them to be closer to each other than they thought they ever would be. But this kind of subplot is minimally explored due to its slimmed running time.

Griffin (Slater), the 2nd Hollow Man & Dr. Dalton (Regan)

The things that still held up during this add-on were the carnage and visual effects. It's no Paul Verhoeven film, but it still has some strong scenes of violence. And for a Direct-to-Video sequel, the visual effects are top notch looking. I'm surprised the crew could still do that with such a smaller budget. I was definitely impressed with that. And to not give the ending away, I'm curious to if there is hope for an invisible person, because maybe not all of them are unstable. Could this lead to a Hollow Man 3? Probably not, but it would be interesting if it goes that route.

For a Direct-to-Video sequel, the visuals are good and so is the violence but it doesn't add anything knew to the story. If anything, it ignores the first film almost entirely.

Points Earned --> 6:10