The Illusionist v The Prestige

By: The Dude

Director: Neil Burger
Cast: Edward Norton, Jessica Biel, Paul Gianatti, Rufus Sewell
Rating: 2 out of 5
 
This is your typical boy turns magician, magician becomes popular, magician gets into some trouble, movie has a bit of a twist, credits roll sort of movie. In fact, it’s so typical that a bunch of folk over at a different movie studio made the same movie, only with Wolverine and Batman in the main roles. The Presido it was called I think.

This one has Edward Norton from The Club of Fighting, Rufus Sewell from The Tale of a Knight, and Jessica Biel from my dreams.

Not since Deep Impact went head to head with Armageddon has two movies basically been about the same thing, had the same special effects and attracted the same audience. Unless of course you count Saws 1, 2 and 3.

The problem with The Illusionist is that the only magic trick it doesn’t pull off is making you forget about The Prestige. You can see the strings it’s trying to pull, but that trick never quite come off, yeah. Same goes for trying to get us believe that Jess would fall for Ed.

It’s like comparing Jennifer Love Hewitt with Angelina Jolie. It’s not that either one of them is a bad option, it’s just that one of them is going to appeal to some, and not others.

If you like big lips, tattoos, and an athletic chassis then Angelina is the way to go. On the other hand, if you like a curvaceous chassis, classic beauty and cleavage, then Jen is the way to go.

Likewise, if you like romance and a bit of predictability with a minor twist, then take The Illusionist. If, however, you’re more partial to a lingering mystery, competitiveness and a major twist, you’re gonna lean toward The Prestige.

Okay, so to cut to the horse and carriage chase, this here movie is set in like the 1800s where these childhood sweethearts get reunited during a magic show and fall in love. At about 17 minutes in, you can predict where the whole thing is headed and it plays out as expected.

I’m copping flak from the suits here at DVDetails HQ about giving away plots, so I’m gonna bow to the man this one time. Abracadabra.
 
Verbatim:
Eisenheim: “Everything you have seen here has been an illusion.”

In a word: Painful