The Illusionist: Rating: 3 stars

Hey, you know that awesome movie about magicians? Yeah, that’s The Prestige.

The Illusionist (2006)
2006 · PG-13 · Drama
Reviewed April 9, 2007

It was a mistake to watch The Prestige first, because this similar magic-movie-with-a-twist seemed very lackluster in comparison. While it’s beautifully filmed (the color is gorgeous) and well-scored, the plot and acting are rather dull. Instead of the twists and turns of The Prestige, we get an ordinary Romeo-and-Juliet story of star-crossed lovers, played by Edward Norton (whose beard seems to muffle his acting skills) and the monochromous Jessica Biel (whose accent slips between American, English, and German). The lovers are boring enough that I didn’t give much of a damn what happened to them, and it didn’t help that I saw right through the big secret plot they had going — halfway through, it’s obvious how the story is going to end, and yet the movie plods along for another hour or so. Plus, the ending is a cop-out; unlike The Prestige, where the whole film is littered with clues and hints that make the surprise ending fall perfectly into place, The Illusionist refuses to drop so much as a hint, which is supposed to make the ending that much more surprising but instead makes it fall flat. The magic tricks were fun, but the rest of the film was predictable and overlong. It’s worth watching for the pretty colors and amusing tricks, but get The Prestige if you want a good story.