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Movie Overview
Cast
• Edward Norton
• Jessica Biel
• Paul Giamatti
Director
• Neil Burger
MPAA Rating
PG-13 - for some sexuality and violence.
The Illusionist (2006)

REVIEWS
NEWS
INTERVIEWS OTHER
OFCS Rating: 64% Fresh
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B+
"It's a big enough rarity in itself to find a solid crime/drama these days at the movies, but The Illusionist satiates our hunger for a compelling period piece."  FromTheBalcony  Bill Clark

5/10
"The various sleights of hand performed by characters and filmmakers alike come off less as acts of magic and more as the clumsy parlor tricks of results-based filmmaking."  Freeze Dried Movies  Brian Juergens

C
"The essential smack of trickery is lost throughout the picture every time an obvious effect is used, which eventually spills over into the story elements when Burger goes for toothless attempts at misdirection."  FilmJerk.com  Brian Orndorf

2/5
"so much disappointment, tinged with boredom."  Filmcritic.com  Chris Barsanti

B+
"There is a formal reverence for the unspoken loyalty between Eisenheim and Sophie that elegantly expounds on the period aspects of the story to create an atmosphere of timeless devotion and uncommon humility."  ColeSmithey.com  Cole Smithey

"If its allegory isn't subtle, it is timely: those who seem authorities are illusionists, administering by entertainments. "  PopMatters  Cynthia Fuchs

B
"It might take a magical act to find its audience."  Ozus' World Movie Reviews  Dennis Schwartz

"Most viewers will enjoy the fun of being rewardingly beguiled by 'The Illusionist.'"  ReelTalk Movie Reviews  Donald J. Levit

2/4
"Slow-moving and limited in scope...Seems more suited for cable than theatrical exhibition"  DustinPutman.com  Dustin Putman

3/5
"Un atractivo y satisfactorio pasatiempo sin mayores pretensiones que las de entretener, fascinar y eventualmente sorprender a su espectador."  Uruguay Total  Enrique Buchichio

C+
"It's a marginal story, and passionless in the way it's been antiseptically brought to the screen, but it's not unenjoyable."  EricDSnider.com  Eric D. Snider

B
"The last act dulls the impact of what is otherwise a rich, affecting movie, directed with an elegance that belies its 'period piece' label."  Film Blather  Eugene Novikov

"Straddles fascination and irritation"  CinePassion  Fernando F. Croce

B+
"Hardly profound, but it's evocative, engrossing and fun--as mesmerizing as any of the tricks the title character performs for his astonished audiences, and equally enjoyable."  One Guy's Opinion  Frank Swietek

3/4
"The movie celebrates magic in its many forms while testifying to the enduring power of love."  ReelViews  James Berardinelli

2.5/5
"'Nothing is what it seems,' goes the film's tagline, but it eventually shows that everything can be explained."  Q Network Film Desk  James Kendrick

3/4
"A stylishly crafted illusion."  Palo Alto Weekly  Jeanne Aufmuth

8/10
"Entertaining in the most elementary of ways -- it just wants to spin a good yarn."  Window to the Movies  Jeffrey Chen

8/10
"A gorgeous-looking movie featuring a fascinating lead character."  JoBlo's Movie Emporium  JoBlo

C
"little more than a fairy tale"  Old School Reviews  John A. Nesbit

"...for all the creaky trappings of the style, there's an entertaining yarn to be told here, tricked up with time-honored twists and turns in the old-school tradition."  In the Dark  Jonathan F. Richards

3/4
"The Illusionist is intent on maintaining a serious and sinister, yet serene temper allowing its four main characters to play off each other and explore their individual dynamic as each represents a different segment on the wheel of good and evil that is e"  Bangitout.com  Jordan Hiller

1.5/5
"click to read full review in Greek"  Movies for the Masses  Joseph Proimakis

2.5/4.0
"... a good film for a date and interesting enough for fans of magic..."  MovieCrypt.com  Kevin A. Ranson

4/5
"a well-written piece, not something you'll see all the time in Hollywood"  7M Pictures  Kevin Carr

3/5
"Like a fun house mirror, Burger's story is never quite what you think it is; just when you think you have things figured out, you don't ..."  Cinematical  Kim Voynar

B
"...a lush looking puzzle box of a film grounded by a vivid, sharp performance by Norton."  Reeling Reviews  Laura Clifford

4/5
"La cinta es en definitiva una grata sorpresa, pero especial ovación merece el trabajo de Dick Pope, fotógrafo, quien logra un resultado sobresaliente."  Cinenganos  Luis Martinez

3/4
"This handsome, elegant and restrained fable about love, artifice and power in fin de siecle Vienna is lavishly imagined and yet oddly airless."  TV Guide's Movie Guide  Maitland McDonagh

7/10
"The ILLUSIONIST is a hypnotic film that is an act of stage magic in itself. This is a captivating and atmospheric tale that will keep the viewer wondering what is real, what illusion."  rec.arts.movies.reviews  Mark R. Leeper

"There is magic in The Illusionist, and I don't mean merely the magic of stage conjurers, like the character this wonderfully mysterious and dreamy film turns on. There is movie magic, of the type that reminds you why you fell in love with movies in"  Flick Filosopher  MaryAnn Johanson

3.5/4
"The Illusionist is cleverly conceived and executed. It's the kind of movie that absorbs you, holding you in its spell for nearly two hours."  Aisle Seat  Mike McGranaghan

C+
"A handsomely constructed but decidedly minor sleight of hand."  Lessons of Darkness  Nick Schager

2/5
"Somos atirados para fora do cinema com a sensação de termos visto um um mágico incompetente que, sem perceber que podíamos enxergar as cartas em sua manga e as orelhas do coelho saindo da cartola, sai de cena com a certeza absoluta de que enganou a todos."  Cinema em Cena  Pablo Villaca

3/5
"The bits never add up to anything resembling a satisfying whole and while you keep expecting a film with a cast of this caliber to eventually pull a rabbit or two out of thin air."  eFilmCritic.com  Peter Sobczynski

2.5/5
"This film looks so good, and has such a strong cast, that some viewers won't notice how corny the script is."  Shadows on the Wall  Rich Cline

B
"A lush period film with great production values, a clever story and excellent acting performances."  Laramie Movie Scope  Robert Roten

"Crafted with a budget-minded luscious sense of period detail to distract from the rudimentary direction and clumsy screenwriting..."  GreenCine  Sean Axmaker

3/4
"(Norton and Giamatti's) chess match ... ultimately triumphs over the movie's more marketable but opaque affair of the heart."  Charlotte Weekly  Sean O'Connell

"Director Neil Burger effectively evokes a sense of mystery and magic, but the plot grinds too methodically to match the dazzle of the title character's on-stage illusions."  Cinefantastique  Steve Biodrowski

3/4
"The film's best effects are Norton's compellingly enigmatic performance and Giamatti's considerable sympathy and charm."  Decent Films Guide  Steven D. Greydanus

9/10
"This lavishly romantic tale of magic and mystery is utterly spellbinding, teasing and tantalizing you with the truth while juggling smoke and mirrors."  Modamag.com  Susan Granger

1.5/4
"Though it's tempting to laud it for having no pretensions to greatness, it's equally tempting to stay home and laud it from there."  Film Freak Central  Walter Chaw

"Click here to see review"  Wolf Entertainment Guide  William Wolf

Read review  Cinema Crazed  Felix Vasquez Jr.
OFCS Rating: 64% Fresh
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