Discussion
Last night I watched The Illusionist.
It was not a remarkable film, but is thoroughly enjoyable. I enjoy steadily paced films. The actors, for the most part, performed their roles well, although I thought the actions of one character in particular were not fully developed. His sudden change of heart came without explanation. It rates 7.6 on IMDB, which is surprisingly high, but it is pure entertainment without a message or complex meaning. Edward Norton, great in Red Dragon, was OK without being dominant. Jessica Biel had little to do but what she did she did well. One actor stood out though.
Rufus Sewell, an actor I've seen a few times but not been particularly struck by, nailed his character, the intelligent, utterly selfish and psychotic Prince Leopold.
To quote the film, everything you see is an illusion of course, but he was utterly believable. His part was the most complicated but afterwards, when thinking about what went on in the film, you could see the motive behind his every act.
So 7/10 is a reasonable mark, but Sewell's performance gives it that extra 0.6 perhaps.
The only reason I watched it was because I thought it was a film I'd seen some time ago about a battle between to magicians. I'm glad I was wrong.
It was not a remarkable film, but is thoroughly enjoyable. I enjoy steadily paced films. The actors, for the most part, performed their roles well, although I thought the actions of one character in particular were not fully developed. His sudden change of heart came without explanation. It rates 7.6 on IMDB, which is surprisingly high, but it is pure entertainment without a message or complex meaning. Edward Norton, great in Red Dragon, was OK without being dominant. Jessica Biel had little to do but what she did she did well. One actor stood out though.
Rufus Sewell, an actor I've seen a few times but not been particularly struck by, nailed his character, the intelligent, utterly selfish and psychotic Prince Leopold.
To quote the film, everything you see is an illusion of course, but he was utterly believable. His part was the most complicated but afterwards, when thinking about what went on in the film, you could see the motive behind his every act.
So 7/10 is a reasonable mark, but Sewell's performance gives it that extra 0.6 perhaps.
The only reason I watched it was because I thought it was a film I'd seen some time ago about a battle between to magicians. I'm glad I was wrong.
Gassing Station | TV, Film, Video Streaming & Radio | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff