pierkarlezi
It's a very good movie, great photography, sound score and a awesome cast... and there's the problem, with that cast I expected more... but it's still a great movie to watch
zkonedog
When making a "big reveal" film, a top-notch director must realize that the "reveal" cannot be the entire picture. One must also include fair doses of character development, believable actions, & compelling drama in order to make us care enough for the reveal to actually mean something. Sadly, Neil Burger does very little of that within "The Illusionist".For a basic plot summary, this period piece centers on stage magician Eisenheim (Edward Norton), who conjures up apparitions that are utterly stupefying. When Sophie (Jessica Biel), the former love of his life, comes back into the equation, Eisenheim must make the decision once and for all as to whether or not they can carve out a life together despite being from completely different social classes.Despite the fact that "The Illusionist" was clearly made with care and a very good intent, it ultimately fails to impress for two specific reasons:1. There really isn't much to get invested in. The characters are little more than cardboard cutouts (the human element is only "talked", not actually "lived"), while the events transpiring around them are never explained (e.g. Eisenheim's actual tricks).2. There is no "grit" to the picture whatsoever. In Christopher Nolan's masterpiece "The Prestige", a similar magic-themed film, the director takes you deep inside the world the characters are living in, pulling no punches along the way. We see it all...the good and the bad and all the raw emotions that result from it. In "The Illusionist", however, stereotypical "class differences" and "the controlling husband" are used in place of real emotion. Those stereotypes may have been true of the era, but in this case they needed to be felt instead of just referenced.Overall, then, I cannot recommend this one to those who like their movies deep and full of character growth, as it is quite superficial all the way around. Yes, it does have a "mind-blowing" reveal, but because it fails in so many areas before that point, it loses all its credibility, so to speak. I highly recommend "The Prestige" as an alternative yet still containing very similar themes.
William Reid
There was a period (2006) when there were a lot of movies about magicians (okay two). 'The Illusionist' was one of them. At the time I figured, 'you've seen one...' and you know the rest. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I watched it the other night. A great cast of interesting characters that draw you into a story that otherwise is the standard fare. The movies tries to deliver on two levels: as a romance and a 'bro'mance - which left me wanting a little more of both frankly. The plot carries enough intrigue that you'll want to know what happens at the end but it's less impressive then the movie deserves. Stand out performances from the major players make this worth watching.
Zulfiqar Ali
This Movie is my all time favorite which i have seen more then 10 times. The Illusionist is infectious mix of drama, mystery and romance. t's an exquisitely crafted period picture that keeps promising more and more as it goes along--smarter ideas, richer themes, spookier plot twists--and keeps delivering on every promise, right up until the rug- pulling and overly hasty final sequence. Eisenheim's storybook romance with Sophie (Jessica Biel), the childhood sweetheart now expected to become Leopold's princess, is the most compelling thing about a film. Sophie in childhood says when they were caught together "Make us Disappear" and when Eisenheim is back as a grownup he tells Sophie during one of his performance "Perhaps i will make you disappear" that rang a bell for Sophie, astonishing way to tell her that he is back. Overall a brilliant piece of work.
AD
