Magic Man (2009)

Directed by: Roscoe Lever | 90 minutes | thriller, crime | Actors: Billy Zane, Alexander Nevsky, Estelle Raskin, Ling Bai, Robert Davi, Christina Vidal, Andrew Divoff, Sarah Jayne Jensen, Richard Tyson, EJ Callahan, Danielle Langlois, Brandon Molale, Veronica Powers, Bob Rumnock, Surawit Sae Kang, Elena sahagun

Magic may have been popular in contemporary cinema for ages, but films about illusionists don’t appear too often. In 2006 there was a revival: the success of ‘The Illusionist’ with Edward Norton was soon followed by the even bigger success of Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Prestige’. And as always when a filmmaker has found a successful formula, several productions follow that should not even be in the shadow of the aforementioned successes.

‘Magic Man’ is one such cheap B production that is in the shadows of the shadows. Tatiana Pavlova (Estelle Raskin) visits Las Vegas with her two friends Vera Andrews and Elena Brown. The reason for this is that Tatiana’s mother once had an accident as an illusionist’s assistant during an act. Tatiana has received a mysterious note stating that there is more information about this tragic accident in Las Vegas. She takes her friends to a show by the famous illusionist Krell Darius. However, the fun outing turns into a dramatic carnage in no time. Tatiana’s girlfriends are found in pieces: they have been killed in a very theatrical way. Krell Darius and his former rival Treadwell seem to have something to do with the case. Detectives Orloff (Alexander Nevsky, also producer of the film) and Simpson (Robert Davi) as well as Tatiana investigate…

Directed by debuting Roscoe Lever, the film never captures the viewer’s interest. It’s especially sad to see both Billy Zane (the great villain from ‘Titanic’) and Bai Ling (best known for their role in the cult classic ‘The Crow’) in such a production. It is certainly not an ode to the declining careers, more a dark path without end. In addition to terrible acting performances, the camera work is also of a very dubious level. A complete mystery is the choice of the scene of a moving elevator, it most resembles an attempt to add some tension to the story, but Roscoe Lever does not succeed in this at all. ‘Magic Man’ should quickly become part of a disappearing act that fails in such a way that the film is really gone for good.