I will talk about how I'm done with high school once it's actually sunk in that I'm done with high school. It'll probably take a couple weeks at least. For now, it's movie review time.
Here's the short: Four street magicians with very few resources are brought together by a mysterious man who gives them each a tarot-esque card. One year later, they stage three performances, where at each one, a large sum of money is stolen and given to the less fortunate in the audiences. After each one, they manage to piss off three different men who begin to chase after these magicians, trying to learn their tricks and catch them before their next act. Everyone is suspected of being someone other than who they say they are, and intense chase scenes commence until finally, the truth about the magicians is revealed to the audience.
Now, this ending sounds rather boring when you think about it since it seems to wrap up so nicely. But PREPARE TO BE AMAZED. "Because the closer you think you are... The less you actually see." What I particularly enjoyed about this movie was the audience interaction. When I say this, I don't mean the characters are breaking the fourth wall and talking directly to the audience. I'm saying they don't break the fourth wall and they talk directly to the audience. When they say "look closely," they're not just talking to the other characters in the movie. So sit back, try and guess, because suspicion will be everywhere until the very end. I went with a group of friends so I know that I wasn't the only one who was surprised by the ending.
Plot-wise, this movie was amazing and I highly recommend watching it in theaters. With some movies, I can recommend that you go see it, but not necessarily in theaters because it wouldn't make much of a difference. Some movies, though, like this one, are just better on the big screen. Visually, it was captivating, with complex scenes and very nice and somewhat dizzying camerawork. I wouldn't necessarily say I was gripping the edges of my seat, but only because this film provided a different kind of excitement that was more on the intellectual level. It was like Inception with less emotional background and more action scenes, which in some senses was nice.
I believe that in order for me to properly critique this film, I have to give it some actual criticism as well. The characters in this movie have almost zero background, which wasn't bad for the plot, but it was bad for the audience. Background, though it may be inserted into some movies at awkward times and make the audience yawn, can make characters more relatable, therefore making the audience more attached to them. Example #1: (SPOILER ALERT) One of the characters dies. I won't say why, how, when, or who, but I will say that the only reason any of us were sad was because he's cute. That's not a good reason for the audience to be sad.
Second thing I'd like to critique: there's a point to which something can be too fast-paced. Action movies have the luxury of being as fast-paced as they want to be, but for movies involving intellectual backgrounds and subplots, the audience needs a bit more time. Don't get me wrong; I understood what was going on and I'm only a little slow, but there will always be a difference in letting the implications of a gunshot sink in and letting the implications of an underground, historical, and slightly mystical organization sink in. It just allows for the awesomeness (or the lameness) of a plotpoint to be fully appreciated by the audience before moving on to the next mind-blowing scene.
So there it is. If you read this while it's still in theaters, go see it! If not, then watch in on the most high-quality device you or a friend owns because it's certainly worth a cinematic experience.
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