We have lift-off... The Illusionist
The Illusionist starring Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti and Jessica Biel opened in the UK on Friday. The film, which follows a magician in pursuit of his beloved, who happens to be engaged to the crown prince, has had critics both commending and lamenting its genius.
Our own Peter Bradshaw called The Illusionist a "welcome corrective" to The Prestige, the Christopher Nolan-directed film about competing conjurors which came out late last year. Despite the less than extraordinary sense of magic he concludes that "in its unassuming way, the film shows that reality is more mystifying than illusion".
The Independent also compared the two films, saying that whereas The Prestige was a David Copperfield-style, Las Vegas extravaganza, The Illusionist was a close-up card trick; a sentiment echoed by Empire magazine, which agreed that whilst the film lacked a sense of mystery it still had the power to keep an audience rapt "like a good old-fashioned card trick".
The Times similarly felt that the film lacked a sense of magic, but its critic was even less impressed with the casting of Edward Norton in the leading role: "Like Sean Penn he brings a monolithic intensity to a part that frankly needs just two ounces rather than eight kilos of tragic baggage." The Telegraph was more complimentary, billing the film as "an ideas-rich, well-performed and surprisingly involving romance".
On the internet, English cinemagoer Miriglum has described the film as "pure cheese, but the kind that comes on a wee wooden board, with a fancy knife and bits of grape". It would appear that most viewers found the plot predictable; with a few of them having guessed the ending five minutes into the film. Although Mattmatt declared that "the twist ending was good and nothing like I'd predicted". In fact, he was so mesmerised that he still had popcorn left at the end of the film. And across the Atlantic, American blogger Kevin can't decide whether he should "crucify this movie for its lame screenplay, or give it a pass for being an involving piece of low key fluff drama".
Would anyone else out there who saw it this weekend want to offer their tuppence worth?
