Death by Magic (2018) User Reviews

Idk

[Jessicanu94 · 7/10 · 5 December 2018]

I can't tell if the audience is fake or not but it's fishy how in one episode someone in the audience was from another Netflix show

Mediocre

[andy-thelwell · 6/10 · 25 December 2018]

I like magic. I like Drummond Money-Coutts' style and approach. He's a slick, stylish and ultra-posh chap of fine, aristocratic heritage. And that's fine with me.

What I don't like so much is that there are several quite obvious camera tricks in this show, and that really starts to spoil the whole thing. As soon as you see them, and believe me they are quite obvious, the possibility of suspension of disbelief goes out of the window. One example is a glowing red tattoo on the back of a guy's neck. It's 100% obvious that the 'effect' that we as a TV audience see is not the same effect that the live audience sees. And from there all bets are off. It's a shame, because there really is a lot to like about Drummond and what he does.

The escapes are pretty entertaining, although it's hard to believe the audience and their reactions are genuine. The whole thing is so heavily produced that, again, you get the sense that things are not as 'natural' as one is asked to believe.

Overall, this series is worth the watch, but it often fails to create the sense of wonder that is, in essence, the raîson d'etre of magic.

Enjoyable but...

[doruksesli · 7/10 · 2 January 2020]

It's too dramatic and there is a chance that all of the tricks are camera tricks, however the show is enjoyable and mostly entertained me during the duration. 7 out of 10 because it could have been better.

90% presentation

[radhrh · 6/10 · 12 September 2022]

In theatrical magic there are only a certain number of tricks. What marks out one magician over another is their presentation and this guy has his presentation down cold. One trick is to make something disappear only to be produced again from an impossible location. This could be a driver's license inside a sealed coconut in Miami or a playing card stuck to a ceiling in a Cape Town bar. It's the same trick. Another trick is taking an empty container and filling it with some thing or many things. This could be a paper bag magically filled with packs of playing cards, a cone made of news paper filled with sweets or a paper bag magically filled with a pair of shoes ( or for that matter a hat with a live rabbit ). All the same trick, just presented differently. The weakness here is that we have no idea if the tricks were performed for real? Were the audience actors or real people? There's a caption before each episode telling us it's all legitimate, so that's all right then because TV shows never lie. Do they?

Ok

[marthamichaelides · 6/10 · 27 October 2019]

How do you know that they are not any special effects and it's overly dramatic

Jump Cuts

[heinyml · 1/10 · 6 December 2018]

I'm sure he is a great magician and it's possible that he is not using "camera tricks." However, when the producer/editor constantly uses camera cuts in the middle of each trick you can't help but feel cheated..... Not amazed.

If you want viewers to feel the magic, you have to shoot it in one continuous shot.

Entertaining!

[bethbookman · 9/10 · 13 December 2018]

Just enjoy the show! I feel like the other reviewers are just looking for something to be wrong as opposed to just enjoying the wonder. I bing watched the whole season and liked every second of it.

If you study anything to long or expect to be disappointed then you probably will be.

Ridiculous

[gamesforvr · 1/10 · 3 December 2018]

It says that "no camera tricks are used" at the beginning, but there are no explanations or not even hints to the tricks done and It really seems like there are camera tricks used all the time every time everywhere. If you want to make a series about magic tricks, you have to successfully separate that from a sci-fi movie. I can't see any difference here. What reference do I have that there really is some illusion done successfully? If you want to do you magic tricks and you don't want do reveal the secrets of them, the audience must, I'm saying again, the audience "MUST" be there so that the tricks done "MEANS" something. If you are doing those on a TV show, you are going to have to prove somehow those are not camera tricks otherwise I would watch Star Wars instead. I suggest you to watch some Derren Brown shows to get some kind of an Idea for how to do this. And the "you" I am referring here is not the reader, It's the Drummond Money-Coutts!

Pure entertainment

[ana-zamacona · 8/10 · 3 January 2019]

This show is good. It may or may not be fake but that doesn't actually matter. Is entertaining as hell.

Bad Magic Bad Acting

[xocet-86042 · 1/10 · 9 December 2018]

Watch the crowd of so called witnesses to the magic. Not one of them move their feet...ever. It's like they would have not got paid if they did. And all that dumb dialogue from the crowd "oh no" '" someone save that man" " I can't watch" (what, were they wearing secret microphones or something). As for the magic. It's a disgrace to the magicians the show is suppose to pay homage to. The first magic escape trick of being locked in a trunk on the tracks with a train coming showing a countdown clock on screen of 60 seconds is terrible. Watch the shadows. Sometimes the shadow is behind the trunk, then just to the side casting a 1 foot shadow and then the train comes and the shadow jumps out to 6 feet long. I estimate that 60 second trick took 45 minutes to complete. Complete insult to anyone's intelligence. All the tricks had the same fake crowd reactions (and no feet movement) and continuity flaws. Even when tied to a stake and about to be set alight, the wood pile at his feet changes between takes. The street magic also showed poor fakery and stooges as the shadows, people and objects in the background moved and changed due to camera jumps. There was no spontaneity at all. You felt totally cheated.

Why the disclaimer?

[ryanwinning1 · 4/10 · 4 March 2019]

Money has a cool persona and carries himself in an entertaining believable fashion but I don't understand why they start the show with the disclaimer that "there are no camera tricks and everything is real," when anyone can tell there are camera tricks at work here. This entire show is based on cinematography as they show clips of whatever city he is in, and clearly every person who he performs a trick form is coached by someone where to stand and what type of look to give etc. kind of entertaining but I don't know how they can be proud of boldly stating there is no illusions or camera tricks when there is.

Not sure what all bad user reviews are all about

[cschiavi13 · 9/10 · 31 December 2018]

I put this on just to have in the background while I fiddle on my computer, but was totally amazed with the train escape. I'm not a magician or anyone that special, I don't care if its editing or camera tricks, we all know he's not a sorcerer, it's just slight of hand and distraction. He fooled me and hes quite cleaver at his presentations. Bravo Drummund. Good Job

Poor

[tool-man · 1/10 · 4 December 2018]

The close up tricks are very poor, they are standard and you may have seen these a hundred times. The big illusions are in my opinion all camera tricks with paid audience.

Entertaining

[scalebalancer · 8/10 · 6 December 2018]

Simple escape pardon the pun entertainment for a series. Hope there are more like the history about each magician.

Lame and boring

[gp-48159 · 1/10 · 5 December 2018]

So lame, drama queen surrounded by what looks to be fake audience or bad actors or both. Nothing to see here.. Oh, he just cut his hand and I think he is crying :( That's it, two episodes is too much...

It's ok

[iKnowFilm · 4/10 · 4 December 2018]

It can be entertaining to watch but it's WAY over dramatic with things that we've all seen before or when we know he's obviously not in danger. I understand a bit of suspense for atmosphere but this was another level of intelligence-insulting drama. He also tries to pay homage to other magicians by doing things they died doing which is pretty cool. But sometimes he changes it completely while making it seem like he's doing the same thing but because he changes it, there really wasn't any danger. That's kind of a slap in the face to the other people who died doing it by acting so dramatic about doing the same dangerous thing...when you're not. Also, many times the people in the background act like background actors in a Sitcom. It's like they were told to ignore the fact that there are cameras and a guy doing magic and just act natural. It made it feel less genuine. At one point he interrupts a couple eating at a restaurant and says he's doing magic. When he goes and sits back with the other couple he's doing the trick for (2 feet away) the other couple don't even act interested or try to see what he's doing. If you like magic you might like this but don't expect too much greatness here.

Wildly Entertaining!!

[shannonmykayla · 10/10 · 4 January 2019]

I don't know how he does it, his stunts are fantastic and his tricks are.....tricks? My mind is a pretzel trying to figure out how he accomplishes these things. Nonetheless I don't want to know because that is truly what fascinates me.....however I am convinced he does astral travel or something like it because what he does is honestly out of this world. I would even put him ahead of David Blaine. He keeps you guessing and on the edge of your seat.....great accent, demeanor, and dignity not at all cocky- what more could you want. 😊

An insult to magicians

[keepya-39622 · 1/10 · 10 December 2018]

First episode when he curls paper up and makes lollies appear, you can see it move out of the shot and then wobble as someone fills the cone of paper. The kids must have seen it. Stooges used for sure.

Amazing!

[sarah-84482 · 10/10 · 1 January 2019]

This is the best reality tv show I've ever seen. All the tricks are mind blowing. I need more episodes!! I can't stop watching! Absolutely spectacular. 13/10

Simply bad

[adrowse · 1/10 · 20 June 2019]

Actors cut shots clever camera angles with a Poor man's derren brown.

Don't bother

[ZodiacShadow · 1/10 · 11 January 2019]

I watched the first episode and found myself wondering if many of the tricks he did were even possible. Suddenly, I realized how they were all done. Not with any impressive sleight of hand, but with camera cuts and stooges. There's no danger and no skill in any of this, just a bit of showmanship and a lot of editing. In the first episode, they even FAILED one of the tricks in spite of this. The beach treasure hunt having the second stooge join in to avoid failing was just embarrassing.

If you want a show with a magician that LOOKS like he's skilled, look no further. If you want actual skill on display, though, ignore this one. What few actual magic tricks DMC pulls off without cuts are unimpressive and trite.

Pure sorcery!

[ricwamp · 10/10 · 16 December 2018]

This dude is the truth! He has made a deal with the devil. His magic is not of this world.

Enjoyed it but...

[fpierre68 · 2/10 · 10 February 2020]

I enjoyed it at first and I love magic, but when I suspected that it was entirely staged using confederates (a more polite term than "stooges") as well as with camera "tricks", I became disappointed. The most obvious indication that it's completely staged is when he is doing a trick with some folks in a cafe or bar. The people at their tables in the background are completely ignoring the goings on. You think people are going to ignore the cameras and bright lights? They'd ALL be watching the goings on. The other point is the manipulation of the language in the "disclaimers". Yes, the reactions are "real." The people are "real" and their reactions are real, real coached reactions. So they aren' t lying. Unfortunately the actors are not very convincing. They aren't reacting as people would without being coached. If they would dare publish a disclaimer that there was no manipulation of the video in any way whatsoever to enhance or achieve the effect, either by edits or cgi and that none of the audience members were coached in any way, then I might pay attention.

It's Entertaining, But Staged

[sayunsprout · 8/10 · 2 November 2023]

Many reviews here seem to be focusing on the magic side of things, obviously it is staged, you don't need to look that hard to see the jump-cuts. However, it isnt purely about the magic, every episode he visits a different place, and you get to learn about things, places, magicians.

If you're looking for something good to put on for some background noise to draw ect, it's great. I think the reviews are being a bit synical, but as long as you don't take it seriously and analyse the show like a hawk, watching for every single jump cut and camera trick, it's a great series.

Overall, I recommend if you're looking to put on some background sound, and it's fun enough to watch, browsing Netflix.

Lack of sleight of hand talent.

[aimeloche · 1/10 · 3 December 2018]

His close up magic is horrible as his set ups for most of his big stunts. Blanks in all the funny and a coin that was already shot to dent it lame. Not even entertaining to watch.