Hollow Man

Plot hole: Why on earth would the military be interested in a soldier (sailor, aviator, whatever) who has to go into combat naked and unarmed, and who is detectable by an enemy equipped with a pair of cheap, mass-produced goggles? How would you treat them if they were injured? They would be utterly useless in any form of military operation, even espionage.

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Suggested correction: Presumably the military are interested because Sebastian's research could lead to advanced forms of invisibility technology, such as the ability to turn materials and weapons invisible for use in combat.

You cannot second guess the film like that. Sebastian is making no effort to make non-living items invisible and throughout the film we see that is not possible (why else would Sebastian have to walk about naked?). His research is on animals (and later humans) not "materials and weapons" and is based on their physiology, anatomy and metabolism. How would you inject a rifle or a tank with a serum? They don't have a bloodstream. The military wouldn't see any value at all in this research - maybe they would be interested in invisibility, but not if it was restricted to living creatures as we see here.

You know how easy it would be for an invisible person to infiltrate an enemy's compound undetected and take out powerful leaders or dictators? Especially if no-one knew the technology existed.

Easy? Impossible. First, they would be naked and unarmed. Too bad if you are trying to knock off Vladimir Putin - a taekwondo black belt - with your bare hands during a Moscow winter! Being invisible doesn't mean you can avoid making a sound or triggering a pressure plate or an infrared detector and so on and so on. Final answer - a naked, unarmed combatant would be about as useful as a chocolate teapot in any form of operation, covert or otherwise.

Plot hole: There must be a lot of dumb scientists in Sebastian's lab. While defibrillating the invisible gorilla, (s)he becomes completely visible for a moment. However, not once do the scientists consider that applying a mild electrical shock to the system renders the invisible animal visible again - that electricity may be the key to the whole invisibility problem. They don't even comment upon the fact that the gorilla does become visible.

Plot hole: Where does Sebastian come from in the end when he grabs Elizabeth Shue? We would have seen him if he was on top of the elevator and he surely could not have been hiding in the fire.

Plot hole: The elevator to enter the lab requires a visible-light thumb scan, but Caine enters the lab (and apparently not by following someone) after he has become invisible. A fingerprint is not sufficient for the type of scanner shown. The gloves he wears would also not follow the contours of his fingertips closely enough to copy his fingerprints.

Plot hole: Caine's skin becomes visible when it chars, for no reason consistent with the other invisibility. Further, it drops off in an impossible way (since there's no indication the invisibility otherwise changes metabolism/healing). Caine acts far too healthy for someone so severely burned. Finally, the extreme damage to skin and muscles that this implies is not seen when he becomes visible. (Even if the material flaking off is clothing, most of the arguments still apply; burned clothing would adhere to burned skin, and would provide little to no protection from the fire.).

Plot hole: After Sebastian, who is visible by being soaked in blood, kills Sarah, the remaining scientists enter the room and find her body in the freezer in only a short space of time. Sebastian then suddenly surprises and attacks them with no blood on him whatsoever. So in that short amount of time, Sebastian was able to leave the room, sneak past past his colleagues without alerting them, find a shower to wash the blood off him, return to the room and move Sarah's corpse in the freezer, and still had time to wait for the others' arrival.

Movielover1996

Factual error: The serum is transported by blood. Hair has no blood traveling to it, only the root. So, unless Bacon shaved his body clean, his hair wouldn't have become invisible, likewise all of the fur on the gorilla.

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Suggested correction: The serum could have been absorbed by the roots and made its way to the tip of the hair strands (similar to colored water going up a piece of celery, changing the color of the celery).

Mammal hair is not porous and is not subject to capillary action.

More mistakes in Hollow Man

Janice: What was the clientele like?
Frank: This guy comes up to me and he says: "l like my women like my coffee."
Janice: People still use that line?
Frank: Maybe he meant cold and bitter.
Janice: Very funny.

More quotes from Hollow Man

Trivia: Whenever Sebastian is invisible and interacting with the other characters, Kevin Bacon's voice would be broadcast throughout several speakers randomly hidden throughout the set. This was done to make the reaction more genuine, since the actors would honestly not know where his voice was going to come from next, just as the characters would not know where Sebastian was.

More trivia for Hollow Man

Question: What is the song playing when Kevin Bacon is driving his car? It wasn't "Power Struggle" by Sunna.

Answer: Do you mean the scene where he is invisible, wearing his mask? If so, the song is called Charlie Big Potato by Skunk Anansie.

Answer: I checked the movie's credits (original concept, I know) then I listened to the song in the film and found the lyrics at http://www.letssingit.com/sunna-power-struggle-1bdk7zz.html and http://84210992.home.icq.com/lyrics.html and I can assure you that it was, in fact, "Power Struggle" by Sunna.

Answer: It's actually Skunk Anansie. I know this song from memory and can attest as a fan of the movie and the scene.

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