terribly sentimental and dull.

Rating: 1/10 (24 September 2006)

The illusionist is one of the most contrived, dull, sentimental films i have seen in a long time. every cliché from every bad Hollywood period piece has been employed. somber expressions, bad British accents, childhood flashbacks, all used to somehow draw the viewer into a story with no chemistry or cohesive theme. i saw absolutely no point in making this film. jessica biel and edward norton were great, and paul giamatti almost poked fun at his cliché character. the acting was good and the cinematography was awesome, but other than that this film is simply a romantic vehicle with a barely feasible twist. i was bored throughout, except for the hilariously bad sentimental moments that had me choking and laughing incredulously at the outright sentimentality of the film. this is not art or film, it is a crass piece of "entertainment". the potential of this film was totally squashed by the commercial hands that obviously got ahold of it and crushed the life from it. entertainment? sadly this doesn't entertain, it leaves you emotionless and bored. a horrible failure.