The Illusionist

A fairytale dressed up as an ingenious show for adults. The Illusionist shows its colors in the title. For most of the movie it pretends to be something different than what it is. It seems to be a clever and well thought out picture until the last five minutes when it pulls out its true colors and it turns out to be woefully dumb. I mean the explanation for idiots at the end is so pointless when everything was obvious an hour before the end. I’m more fascinated about the fact that the creators all of a sudden ignore the only part that would have demolished this like a house of cards: the “spirits". This certainly is no disappointment in terms of the acting, but I must admit that I was expecting something more from such a cast. Up until his performance at the Hofburg in front of the nobility, The Illusionist is outstanding, then it is just good and at the end almost ridiculous. Apart from that, it’s a bit longer than is needed to be. But what makes it interesting for the Czechs among us are the filming locations and, for everybody, Glass’s music which occasionally does too much the work itself. (02/16/2008)

The illusionist is very unlucky as he directly clashed in time with another magic film, Nolan's The Prestige, against which he has no chance to withstand even without closer examination. While the second film sets darkness and nerve-wracking complex twists, Neil Burger makes do with only a slightly mysterious atmosphere and clearly defined characters - a good-evil-just-beautiful. Nevertheless, I liked this straightforward fairytale, even though it has serious logical gaps in its explanations, but thanks to the right magical mood and clearly defined genre rules, it is more than pleasant in its simplicity. (02/02/2007)

If it weren't for (and this is my eternal problem) the unsympathetic Norton, it would have been better. This magical thing boasts a nice period atmosphere, music and ubiquitous illusions that make it almost a fairy-tale spectacle. But the film is slow, rather long and often boring. The filmmakers must have realized this, so in the last third they got things going again. Due to this the end is... Better. But it won't save The Illusionist. (07/10/2010)

The illusionist is not as good as The Prestige. While Nolan throws the viewer into an indescribable atmosphere, visual precision, and script sophistication, The Illusionist relies on the captivating backdrop of Prague and the Czech countryside. The result is naturally not the same, and it is clear who comes out on top. Edward Norton doesn't play a great role, and Jessica Biel is more of an ornament. Some parts movie bored me outright (surprisingly, including the ending) and the deficiencies in terms of unfinished sets and not always fully optimal production design are all too evident. What sets The Illusionist completely apart from The Prestige is the concept of the story. The former has its greatest weapons in originality and being “different”, while the latter film, in a relatively solid yet still quite unexplored realm of magic, only shows classic and well-worn values without anything extra, which is by far not enough. So, if I were to rate the first film only based on its relative drowsiness and tediousness, I cannot do otherwise than give it a below-average rating. (12/26/2008)

A beautifully shot and exceptionally well-scored mysterious film, filmed in the South Bohemian region, which chose a fictional speculative story from the old Austro-Hungarian Empire as its subject. Thanks to the camera work, special effects, and the mentioned music, it's a very consumable film, and perhaps only the casting of Jessica Biel in the lead female role didn't quite sit well with me. It's a standard Hollywood affair with several enjoyable plot twists. Overall impression: 80%. A film about love and, above all, magic. (11/21/2008)