Not the worst "magic" film I've seen...

Rating: 1/10 (5 February 2010)

But clearly one of the most disappointing and overrated. 7.7 at IMDb? Wow, I had a very much different experience from the majority of folks here. I concede that the scenery was great, but there were a number of factors that completely ruined the film for me. Here a just a few:
First, was the end supposed to be a surprise? My gosh, it was telegraphed before the "murder" ever happened. At the Big Reveal, it played like an M. Night Shyamalan wannabe flick, except way more obvious. I can't believe that many people "fell for it." I genuinely thought (or hoped) that the climax was going to *not* be that.
Second, the illusions performed by Eisenheim were simply unbelievable. The fact that it was clearly CGI and not even remotely genuine illusion distracted from the authenticity of the story. If we could expect him to really do these things through trickery or actual supernatural power, then he is capable of way more than the movie delivered. He could have spirited away with Sophie in a much less contrived fashion.
Third, Giamatti as the Inspector seems absolutely amused to realize that he's been a pawn manipulated to investigate a murder that never even happened, a scheme that nearly resulted in his own demise. Oh, those crazy lovers!