Full Movie Reviews
Rating of
3/4
Captivating story with a touch of magic!
MovieAddict - wrote on 05/05/2012
Once upon a time a peasant boy (Edward Norton) and a princess (Jessica Biel) fell in love. The boy was driven away, only to return an accomplished magician, with the wonderful skill of creating illusion. There he finds his old love and also discovers that she is going to marry the unpleasant Crown Prince Leopold (the amazing Rufus Sewell). They are in love, but can they ever be together? Ed Norton is magical and mysterious in a good way and Paul Giamatti put on an excellent performance playing the Chief Inspector.
The movie is set in Vienna which is hauntingly beautiful fits with the story really well. Brilliant cast, great plot that sucks you in, breathtaking photography and the costumes glowed with authenticity. The story has enough twists and turns that keeps you wondering what is …
Rating of
3/4
"The Illusionist" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 02/10/2012
An illusionist meets his childhood sweetheart again while she is consort to the crown prince and they plan to elope together, but when she is murdered the grief stricken magician appears to conjure up the spirits of the dead. The first thing that strikes you about The Illusionist is its sheer beauty; shot in a way that harks back to the silent era combined with a lush, deep palette of warm colours it is truly stunning to look at. The story itself is a very Holmesian mystery that combines a whodunnit with elements of the supernatural and attractive costumes and solid performances all round add to its elegant atmosphere. The plot tries a little too hard to be a Victorian Usual Suspects, the twist a little obvious and rather eminiscent of an M. Night Shyamalan project but I would have to …
Rating of
3/4
The Illusionist review
Daniel Corleone - wrote on 10/03/2011
Eisenheim the Illusionist (born Eduard Abramovich) falls for Duchess von Teschen (Jessica Biel). There forbidden relationship due to social class has been a problem for them. Chief Inspector Walter Uhl (Paul Giamatti) tries to solve the murder of the Duchess. Crown Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell) tries to shut down the shows of Eisenheim. It had some funny moments and the cinematography was elegant. Unfortunately, the screenplay wasn't that convincing. The role of Norton just didn't stretch his abilities and Biel's character just wasn't that interesting. Some nice quotes: Eisenheim - "From the moment we enter this life, we are in the flow of it [the time]. We measure it and we mark it, but we cannot defy it. We cannot even speed it up or slow it down. Or can we ? Have we not each …
Rating of
3.5/4
Great Film
Zombified - wrote on 12/27/2009
The Illusionist has an interesting story, put together with great acting and cinematography.
The story goes back and forth between an illusionist (Edward Norton) and a police detective (Paul Giamatti). The police detective struggles to find the answers around him while the illusionist chooses to keep everything hidden. As the story progresses, the point of view starts to really focus on the police detective. As the story starts ending, more and more is revealed about the characters and their interaction towards others.
The characters are very realistic and act very well together. Each character has a wonderful personality, and a set of limitations which makes them seem very real. The dialog for the characters is very well written, making the conversations the characters have very …
Rating of
4/4
Wonderful Adaptation of a Short Story
Mo-Writer - wrote on 12/22/2009
The Illusionist was a wonderful story based off of an idea for a short story called "The Illusionist".
In the original short story there was really no romance or anything, but it was an idea that a lot of people thought about after the story was written. The Illusionist brings this idea to life, showing a brilliant relationship between an illusionist and a woman from a rich family.
Although the story would seem to follow Edward Norton's character, the illusionist, I feel that most of the story follows Paul Giamatti's character, a police detective that spends most of his time chasing the illusionist. The character interaction between the two of them makes the story seem real, to the point where I thought I was standing in the room listening to them go back and forth. The camera …
Rating of
3.5/4
mdtinney - wrote on 10/17/2009
This film seems to pile comments on both sides of the teeter-totter. Some are negative and some (like me) seem to like the total package of The Illusionist. Negative comments appear to focus on specifics - Why this or that for location. I hate one actor or another's performance. Yawn factor to wow factor. What are you to believe? My best guess it that some viewers don't like to be drawn in, fooled, and then left wanting more. This is an excellent film with the rare capacity to keep you guessing - if you're willing to suspend your ego and go with it. Instead of red objects to give you clues, they come in the (GASP!) dialogue. You, as the viewer, must interact with your intelligence to decide who is the more evil, the more twisted, the most powerful, the more deceptive or the more in love. …
Rating of
3.5/4
Its all just an illusion
TheWolf - wrote on 07/25/2007
A very cool story that doesn't give anything away. That is the only way that this can be really explained. The story is good, and the creativity of the magic of Eisenheim is quite unique. The one thing that this movie does differently is that it doesn't give the leads away. All of the magic that Eisenheim performs is considered to be the illusions of a master craftsman. Unlike other drama / mysteries the only explanations that are given are how things came to be, none of the illusions are really given away. Of course many of the illusions are so over the top that coming up with a rational explanation would be extremely difficult, so to keep the story fine tuned they didn't explain how they are performed.
The back and fourth play between Norton and Giamatti is brilliant. They both allow …
