Hollow Man (2000)

Update of the Invisible Man as interpreted by director Paul Verhoeven and his severe sensibilities, though this doesn't stray as far from the original premise by H.G. Wells as some might think, since the original character did go mad with power. In this version, the title character Sebastian (also Bacon's name in X-Men First Class-2011) is played by Kevin Bacon, head of a scientific team which has developed the serum for invisibility. They test it on a gorilla and also manage to bring the ape back to visibility. Sebastian rushes to the next phase, the test on a human - himself - but this time they aren't able to bring him  back. He's stuck as invisible. For the remainder of the film, Sebastian wears a hideous latex mask when he needs to be visible to others, reflecting perhaps his inner monstrous self. It's not long before he gives in to playful temptation, perhaps mostly harmless even if lecherous, but the harmless aspect will fade soon... the state of invisibility, it's hinted, soon begins to affect the brain.
Arrogant to begin with and fixated on his ex-wife and colleague (Elizabeth Shue), Sebastian steadily becomes deranged with his newfound power. After a very brief period of second thoughts, he gives in to temptation in regard to his foxy neighbor (Rhona Mitra in an early role) and rapes her. Then he swiftly escalates to murder. The long final act has his scientific team defending themselves from him in their special lab. The story also suggests that Sebastian becomes slightly superhuman as a result of his invisibility - with a little more strength and endurance than expected as he runs around naked during the conclusive struggle with his colleagues, seeming to shrug off most of what they throw at him. With all the advances in FX, this offers scenes of the invisible villain when he's partially covered in some substance and therefore slightly visible, not just simply unseen to the viewer all the screen time.

Bacon is always excellent as a villain but he's a bit over-the-top in Verhoeven's vision, as are the other characters; there are rarely likable characters in Verhoeven's films - they're all callous, in-your-face loud and obnoxious (also common in Verhoeven's films is one character suddenly slapping another in vicious anger), so it's less a heroic struggle and simply an exercise in mayhem. As is usual in Verhoeven's films, he aims for visceral intensity - the initial transformation to invisibility is depicted as extremely painful for some reason, as Sebastian writhes on the table. There's no sympathy for him later, when he turns into a ruthless killer, even though he was simply playful and juvenile in his early scenes, before shifting into the invisible man. Josh Brolin as Shue's new beau and Kim Coates also star as other team members, with William Devane in a small role outside the group.  BoG's Score: 6.5 out of 10

Hollow Trivia: there was a direct-to-video sequel in 2006, with different characters and actors.