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Jamaica
Joined: 27 Mar 2011 Posts: 419 Location: Lexington, KY United States
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 2:30 pm Post subject: Another Nice Review from The Reel Bits.com |
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http://www.thereelbits.com/2012/01/17/review-the-great-magician/
Derek Yee has been in the film industry for decades, playing in over forty films between 1975 and 1986 during the years when the Shaw Brothers were still a thing. Yee made the transition to direction almost seamlessly, with 1986′s The Lunatics earning him the first of many Hong Kong Film Award nominations for Best Director, an award he won a few years later for the classic C’est la vie, mon chéri. Having enjoyed a bit of success on the action-crime-dramas Protégé and Shinjuku Incident, Yee returns to a more comedic and frenetic take on the action genre.
Set in the 1920s in Northern China, during the period in which feuds between warlords are taking place, one such lord Lei Daniu (Sean Lau Ching-wan), also known as “Bully”, uses butler Liu Kunshan’s (Wu Gang) magic trickery to recruit soldiers to his ranks. Yet what he really hopes to do is win over the affections of his forced seventh concubine Liu Yin (Zhou Xun). When the mysterious Zhang Xian (Tony Leung Chiu-wai) arrives in town with his magic shows, Bully hires him to help impress the disinterested Yin, not knowing that he has just opened up a can of worms.
While The Great Magician is clearly steeped in some of the more traditionally epic period martial arts films of the last few decades, a natural consequence of director Yee’s years in the business, it is easy to draw parallels with Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige as well. While the goal here is not to obfuscate the truth from the audience until the last minute, like magic tricks themselves, The Great Magician lets it all hang out, content to make the act of magic in the 1920s impressive to a modern audience, while drawing analogies to the political trickery that was used to dupe the masses in China at the time. This is a neat trick in itself, and as just as much of the appeal of this set-up comes from the charm of its lead Tony Leung Chiu-wai as it does from any of the narrative elements. Yet in the first act, the film is in search of an anchor, setting up a number of stylistic choices that will only pay-off later in the film.
The Great Magician really dazzles when the film changes gear and becomes a buddy comedy between Leung and the highly-watchable Sean Lau Ching-wan, who make such a terrific team that you’ll wish the whole film had been their focus. Indeed, there are times when their double-act is genuinely laugh-out-loud funny. Yet even these performances are inconsistent, and some of the cameo appearances of Daniel Wu, Alex Fong and the legendary Tsui Hark smack of gimmickry. Yet what ultimately disappoints is the conclusion, a predictably naff affair that wraps things up too neatly, without the satisfaction that comes with a magician’s prestige. A visually impressive affair, and one that should be lauded for trying something new with a well-worn genre, but one that ultimately has more razzle than dazzle.
A fun and breezy action-magic-comedy. The comedic tone makes this much easier to swallow, and while the film is a little on the long side, it never uses its special effects to bluntly whack audiences over the head, but rather quietly impresses.
The Great Magician was released in Australia on 12 January 2012 from Dream Movie. _________________ "Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." - Groucho Marx |
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Paul
Joined: 29 Mar 2005 Posts: 144 Location: Tokyo
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yitian
Joined: 06 Jul 2011 Posts: 413 Location: United States
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hamberger362
Joined: 22 Oct 2004 Posts: 599 Location: Thailand
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hamberger362
Joined: 22 Oct 2004 Posts: 599 Location: Thailand
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Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 10:37 am Post subject: |
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Jamaica
Joined: 27 Mar 2011 Posts: 419 Location: Lexington, KY United States
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Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 1:56 pm Post subject: Another review from Twitch Film |
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THE GREAT MAGICIAN REVIEW
by Hugo Ozman, January 13, 2012 8:21 AM
ASIA, COMEDY, DRAMA
THE GREAT MAGICIAN only qualifies as a good film. It has a great director, great cast and great production values, and it starts off great but in the end it sadly falls short of being a great film.
Director Derek Yee is best known in the West for his crime thrillers such as PROTÉGÉ and ONE NITE IN MONGKOK, but he actually has a large and varied filmography. His 1993 classic C'EST LA VIE, MON CHERI, for example, is a bittersweet romance drama; while his 2005 hit DRINK-DRANK-DRUNK, just like his latest film, is a comedy. With THE GREAT MAGICIAN, Yee again proves that he is pretty good at doing comedies, as most of the jokes work, and some of them are even very funny.
The main cast includes two top actors from Hong Kong, Tony Leung and Lau Ching Wan; and a top actress from mainland China, Zhou Xun. The last time Leung and Lau worked together was in THE LONGEST NITE from Johnnie To's Milkyway Image back in 1998. It has been a long time since their last collaboration, but the pair certainly works well together in this film. In fact, it looks like they had a ball making the film. Like the boys, Zhou Xun also handles her role comfortably and gives a confident performance.
The film boasts big production values, and looks to be Yee's most expensive film to date. The set is elaborately designed to reflect the era in which the story of the film took place. Much of the budget has clearly been spent on creating the magic shows, therefore making them one of the highlights of the film. They should delight and intrigue audiences, even those who have seen a few live magic performances.
The first half of THE GREAT MAGICIAN impresses by presenting a near-perfect mix of drama, comedy, action, romance and magic. The initial set up is absolutely wonderful, but the second half of the film fails to keep up the same high standards, largely due to issues with the script. A few plot holes begin to emerge, and developments in the relationships between the three main characters become less convincing.
In the end, while some flaws have prevented THE GREAT MAGICIAN from becoming a truly great film, it is nevertheless a good film that offers plenty of fun, laughs and entertainment.
THE GREAT MAGICIAN is distributed in Australia and New Zealand by Dream Movie. It is currently showing in Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Auckland. _________________ "Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." - Groucho Marx |
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Jamaica
Joined: 27 Mar 2011 Posts: 419 Location: Lexington, KY United States
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Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 1:57 pm Post subject: |
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Awww, love the Aladdin-style pictures, especially of Tony with the little boy. _________________ "Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." - Groucho Marx |
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yitian
Joined: 06 Jul 2011 Posts: 413 Location: United States
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Safran
Joined: 22 Mar 2006 Posts: 1322 Location: Austria
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Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 1:58 am Post subject: |
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Dear ham and yitian - Thank you very much for the youtube links - I really enjoyed to watch our dear Idol.....without any annoying problems finally |
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yitian
Joined: 06 Jul 2011 Posts: 413 Location: United States
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Info
Joined: 27 Jan 2003 Posts: 1691 Location: Hong Kong
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Info
Joined: 27 Jan 2003 Posts: 1691 Location: Hong Kong
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Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2012 7:26 pm Post subject: |
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Info
Joined: 27 Jan 2003 Posts: 1691 Location: Hong Kong
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Safran
Joined: 22 Mar 2006 Posts: 1322 Location: Austria
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Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 12:04 am Post subject: |
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Thank you very much yitian and Info ! (The "Making of" fortunately works well ...and I really enjoyed to watch ) |
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yitian
Joined: 06 Jul 2011 Posts: 413 Location: United States
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Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2012 10:57 am Post subject: |
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A small clip from the "Making of" documentary.
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