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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
(1 - 45) of 45
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.
(1 - 45) of 45
OFCS Rating: 64% Fresh
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