Welcome into your home the second best movie about magicians of the year, the first of course being The Prestige, but that is not to diminish the quality of The Illusionist. This film is highly stylized and brings great talent to the top with actors such as Ed Norton (who is in far too few films), Paul Giamatti and Rufus Sewell. With this being director Neil Burger's first major feature film there are a few follies and pacing issues along the way, but I think it is safe to say he has crafted a rather dark and intriguing story based on Steven Millhauser's short story "Eisenheim the Illusionist."

The film is a mix between magic, mystery, romance and political positioning. Eisenheim's past re-enters his life and the Crown Prince Leopold (Sewell) has grown jealous of the increasing fame of the magician and has brought in Chief Inspector Uhl (Giamatti) to get to the bottom of Eisenheim's secret, which runs much deeper than anyone could imagine.

The Illusionist really is a romantic mystery more than it is a tale of magic. The magic is a means to an end and is used quite well. Do to a limited budget the effects aren't exactly top notch, but the acting deviates your attention enough that it doesn't really matter. I will be the first in line to see anything involving Ed Norton and Paul Giamatti, Rufus Sewell always brings something special to the table with his endless amount of villainous roles and Jessica Biel is about as attractive as they come, watching her on screen is never an issue for me.

This film marks Neil Burger's second feature film from both a writing and directing standpoint and he has done a worthy job, and this will not be the last we hear from him. Burger lends his voice to a feature length commentary track, which is really the only "real" special feature on the disc as the two featurettes, as I will soon repeat, are not special at all. However, for the commentary Burger not only goes through the making of the film but he also goes into a bit of history and as you watch several of Eisenheim's tricks he tells you how a lot of the old school magicians pulled them off. It really is quite interesting.

As for the two featurettes, The Making of The Illusionist & Jessica Biel on The Illusionist, they really are quite short and generic. To call them special would be a lie as they were used in the film's marketing online and elsewhere.

Nevermind the featurettes though, the movie in conjunction with the commentary are worth your attention, whether it be as a rental or an all-out purchase. While it got lost amidst all the attention The Prestige received and due to the limited amount of marketing funds it truly is a good film, and one you should be certain to keep an eye out for.