1. ThomasLehmann

   10

   There's a great atmosphere and a surprising end - at least the first time you see it. It's now the third time and still I'm fascinated by the strong role playing. It's a love story - yes - but more than this it's a strategic careful consideration of a magician to play with emotions and to provide hints. At the end also the chief inspector cannot avoid to laugh about these cleverness - he feel sympathy for Eisenheim the whole time...… Expand

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2. PatE.

   8

   Out of the many flops of 2006 this one is sure to be a pleaser if you are looking for a movie you can just enjoy with the family or by yourself and be fascinated with the visuals. I see alot of people are trying to get technical with the magic, of course if you don't know anything about magic don't do that. Your simple logic won't lead you to the answer you seek. A very touching movie, had good emotion to it. Bottomline...a solid 8!… Expand

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3. CraigAS

   5

   Looks great, but the pay-off at the end isn't big enough to justify the rest of the film. Leaves you with a "oh... and?" feeling.

   • Helpful? 1 of 1 users said Yes.
4. Halfwelshman

   4

   The Illusionist is just like the worst kind of magic act. Far from being incompetent, it puts on quite a show, but never instills you with a sense of wonder, empty as it is below the surface. The cast, who look pretty good on paper, are largely wasted, with Edward Norton being up-staged by his own beard playing Eisenheim the Illusionist, and Jessica Biel being bland and utterly forgettable as love interest Duchess Sophie von Teschen. Even the usually brilliant Eddie Marsan makes little impact, as his character, Eisenheim's manager is under-used and has very little to do. Thank goodness the film also stars Paul Giamatti, who imbues his character of Inspector Uhl with a pleasing sincerity and complex morality, and tries his very best to elevate the film's rather clunky script, and Rufus Sewell, who makes a very entertaining, menacing antagonist as the scheming Crown Prince Leopold. The film is very visually impressive, with striking cinematography and high-quality production design with some pleasing period details. Philip Glass's moody soundrack is also rather effective in maintaining a consistent tone throughout the film. Despite these positives, the Illusionist has a disappointing amount of negative counter-points. A film can be as pretty as atmospheric as you like, but when the story is dull (and by jingo, The Illusionist's is boring) and the characters unengaging, its impact, and ultimately its enjoyability is limited. I found myself comparing the film to other, better examples of its type. The Illusionist lacks the sheer beauty, playfulness and soul of Sylvain Chomet's animation of the same name, and the intricate plotting and pure entertainment value of The Prestige. It's just not particularly interesting or memorable, and is disappointingly unmagical. The Illusionist may look the part, and Giamatti and Sewell put on quite a show, but ultimately the sub-par script, underwhelming characterisation and uninvolving story threatens to ruin the film, and alarmingly often, it does. There's no fooling the audience here, the film just isn't magic.… Expand

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