The Illusionist: 3 stars.
This is a low 3. It would have been a high one (Well, three. Oh, you know what I mean), except for the last 5 minutes. I quite liked the movie up until then, but they had to go and ruin it by explaining the big a-ha down to the last detail. I cannot begin to explain to you how much I hate having every last thing spelled out to me, especially in movies like this. In fact, I found that all the little “clues” they showed throughout the movie had been a bit heavy-handed, and the cherry on top of that sundae of obviousness was the detailed explanation of the caper at the end—you know the drill; dramatic music, flashback montage, guy having the a-ha standing in slack-jawed amazement. In fact, there hasn’t been a movie since The Usual Suspects that has been as smart, as subtle, or done that ending montage nearly as well. That said, The Illusionist was well-acted and had a high production value, so it wasn’t a total loss.
By contrast, The Prestige (also a low 3, also well-acted), the other magician movie of 2006, had a different problem. There were so many plot twists, double-crosses and triple-crosses that, by the time the big a-ha rolled around, you didn’t care anymore.