The Magicians (2000 TV Movie) User Reviews

OK TV Pilot

[BBBrown · 5/10 · 1 August 2005]

I also believe this to have been done as a pilot for a possible TV series. On the plus side, the special effects are fairly well done and actually complement rather than overwhelm the somewhat thin storyline. On the negative side, the plot itself seems to have been meant to grow over the course of a hoped for TV series and therefore leaves a lot to be desired.

One could hope that should a series ever arise from this project that it would be made for more liberal and mature audiences outside the U.S. Even with the film's obviously toned down and very brief sex and violence, the SciFi channel dares show it only *after midnight* in the States!

A bit light in plot and drama

[F1ame · 4/10 · 17 February 2002]

I assume that this was written after The Matrix and Tomb Raider, though that's not always the way. At first when this chap keeps harping on about finding "the one" the focus was wavering. Then the "Illuminati" aagh, Fatboy Slim tunes diving through my head. Stop it, stop it.

So that aside, from the first 20 mins we managed to get the idea of a master "magician", who was trying to find a replacement for himself. The reason for the magician: to fight for the good, against the evil. What was the threat from the evil?... well there isn't really much direct 'evil people' doing 'evil stuff'. They seem to push some drugs or castor sugar, but other than that all 'badness' was blamed on them without screen evidence.

So we have a sister as plot device and a few philosophical view points, which given credit, elevate the story from sheer nonsense. The effects were fine for the budget. The acting was not laughable, but some of the dialogue was hard to shift without creating a smirk on the viewer.

I feel the main problem with the film may lie in its similarity to other productions, which were made much better, thus this film comes off with a cheap laughable feel. There is no real passion from the characters, (or at least, is was not conveyed to me). Which promotes a lack of caring.

So to stop rambling, and conclude, I'll tell you... Kimberley D looks good, but the film is a tad poor. I'm sure a few will love it, but most will find it hard to feel worth their while.

Standard fare, looks like a TV series pilot

[sreid · 3/10 · 21 June 2002]

Okay special effects, but this is a standard good-vs-evil plot. It looks like a pilot for a TV series. This means it is rated PG, which prevents us from seeing more of the lovely Kimberley Davies, not to mention Gabrielle Fitzpatrick.

Boring

[velocity2002 · 4/10 · 24 February 2002]

As some other users have already said, Kimberley Davies is excellent. She plays a "Buffy" type villain but the film is really quite bad. If you are a fan of hers then it's worth seeing but I found it very dull and not very entertaining.

Average

[kwnb404 · 7/10 · 19 February 2002]

The whole thing seems a bit half hearted. Only Kimberley Davies looks to be really puting the effort in. The rest of the cast are quite unbeliavable in their roles but the script lets them down badly.

I'd say that it's a film for kids, but then there are drug references and a sex scene so it's hard to work out who this film was aimed at.

Not very good

[thewhill · 9/10 · 18 February 2002]

A very cliched and quite dull film. It's only redeeming feature is an excellent performance by Kimberley Davies as the super sexy but evil villain, Regina. But even she can't hold your interest in what is a very weak script.