Movie Name: The Illusionist (2006)

Language: English

Director: Neil Burger

Genre: Drama/Thriller

Rating: 6/10

This was a much awaited movie for me! It’s seldom that good things happen two at a go…and here it was…Ed Norton (my fave actor) and the beautiful realm of magic and illusion, coming together for duration of 100 odd minutes. It is even rarer…that someone actually manage to get Ed Norton “totally wasted” in a movie. !!!

The movie had all the condiments to make it a super-duper hit…I would say that bad casting ruined it.  Norton didn’t look like the illusionist…he had this ‘gosh-these-pants-are-tight’ expression throughout the movie. For a guy who gave us Primal Fear and American History X…this was a raw deal. Come on…there are standards to meet. I hate to admit that Ed Norton acted bad…and hence the blame on casting :P!  He was so very wooden and lacked the charisma associated with illusionist…and add to the list of bad casting…Mr. Paul Giamatti! He failed to live upto the role of Inspector Uhl, and botched up the characterization …he slides ‘Sideways’:). The movie has a storyline that’s way too predictable and the best illusions are left without an explanation and hence fail to notch points on the ‘reality’ aspect of the illusions

The movie is worth a watch simply for the superb special efforts. The effects cover up for most of everything…even the lack of a definite story line to a certain extent. Ed Norton fans…go easy…it’s just an illusion afterall!