The Illusionist
 

Couldn't find a thread for this movie, and I didn't want to write about it in that "What was the last movie you watched?" thread since my post might contain spoilers... and the movie isn't that old yet I think.

The movie was alright... I would have liked more of an explanation at the end once the twist was revealed. Some of the tricks seemed... just crazy for that time period. But I guess you're supposed to suspend your disbelief (or is it belief?) in a movie like this.

Anyone else have thoughts? I plan on watching The Prestige soon, since I've heard that was the better of the magician movies.

I had the opposite reaction about the "twist" at the end. To me, the "twist" was broadcast the whole movie so that I didn't think of it as a "twist" at all. And, so, the explanation scene kind of annoyed me. I also didn't like the flashback device at the start of the movie.

Other than that, it was a perfectly average movie.

Yeah, the flashback at the beginning seemed out of place... I would have preferred it to not be there.

I preferred the Prestige if you're comparing the two. The Illusionist seemed like it had a lot of potential, but never quite got it all together. Also didn't really like the acting of whoever was the secret police chief.

i thought the twist ruined an otherwise decent movie

the best magic trick in the whole movie was making the 2 characters the same age in flashbacks, then casting ed norton, who is a good 15-20 years older than jessica biel. nice job there.

I liked the flashback. It setup their relationship for the movie and gave us the back story of people from the other side of the tracks. In this little snip the movie established their relationship and the fact that these 2 classes of people were strickly forbidden from dating.

Actually, I thought Paul Giamatti (to whom you're referring) saved the film. We watched it Saturday night. The wife & I thought it was OK.

That's interesting that we came to completely different opinions on that. I just didn't buy him in the role. He seemed to lack the presence or authority I would expect someone to have in that role.

What twist? The name of the movie is The Illusionist. Exactly what did you think was happening? Magic?


The alternative would have been just "Crossing over with John Edward" stupid.

And I spent a good fifteen minutes freezing the plans that Inspector Uhl gets on the "orange tree" and discussing with some illusion-enthusiast friends how it was impossible.

I kind of wonder where my head is sometimes. I agree though, average movie that just didn't deliver. Lovely settings though.