It's a shame that the story itself feels like smoke and mirrors with nowhere to go, wanting to have its cake and eat it too.
Comment
08/08/08
Death Defying Acts (2008)
46
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:37
Fresh:17
Rotten:20
Average Rating:5.1/10
Consensus: Pretty but dull, with unconvincing turns from Zeta-Jones and Pearce. If you want a period magician movie, seek out The Prestige or The Illusionist instead.
Theatrical Release:Jul 11, 2008 Limited
Synopsis: Celebrated director Gillian Armstrong (MY BRILLIANT CAREER, LITTLE WOMEN) helms this film about Harry Houdini's romance with a con woman. In his attempts to contact his dead mother, the magician... [More]
Starring: Guy Pearce, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Timothy Spall, Saoirse Ronan
Director: Gillian Armstrong
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Reviews for Death Defying Acts
Death Defying Acts is a hugely enjoyable, impressively directed drama with superb performances and an emotionally engaging script. Terrific final scene too. Highly recommended.
08/08/08
It’s all a touch undercooked and dull.
08/08/08
It's a movie that seems to have been lavished with care and performed with gusto, yet its tale of fakery sounds its own knell: there's not a believable moment in it.
08/08/08
A watchable, enjoyable but fairly forgettable film, Death Defying Acts has plenty of smoke and mirrors and not quite enough magic.
08/08/08
Top CriticIt’s pretty but dull, with Pearce and Zeta-Jones never convincing as supposedly hot-for-each other rivals.
08/08/08
Top CriticIt all looks pretty enough – but well before the end you’ll be plotting your escape.
08/08/08
This is better than the dull Edward Norton vehicle The Illusionist, all involved should have conjured up a companion piece to Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige.
08/08/08
And while less magical than The Prestige, it's perfectly charming matinée fare.
08/08/08
The movie is over-schematic, slow-moving and over-furnished. It never seems to come alive with any believable interplay of characters; the movie locks itself into a watertight tank of a premise, and the handcuffs won't come off.
08/08/08
Houdini’s mission to debunk fake spiritualists is hijacked by this wholly fraudulent love story. There’s not a moment in the film that feels honest and uncontrived.
08/08/08
A pleasant, frothy period confection that's as decorative and insubstantial as Zeta Jones's character.
08/08/08
All in all, it’s a bit of a snore that falls back on romance when all else fails.
08/08/08
Despite the confused tone and underwhelming romance, this pretty little picture entertains in the main thanks to the intriguing subject matter and top turns from Zeta-Jones and Ronan.
08/08/08
Thoroughly entertaining drama with a strong script, excellent direction and terrific performances from Pearce, Ronan and Catherine Zeta Jones.
08/07/08
excepting experimental films, plot is a key reason we watch movies. Without an interesting one, an hour and a half of competent filmmaking becomes about an hour and 25 minutes of boredom.
07/30/08
Perhaps the film isn't a grandiose statement of splintered lives, but it's an agreeable drama, best when it stays close to the decomposing heart of a professional liar.
07/24/08
...a decidedly minor addition to the résumé of Australian director Gillian Armstrong...The film moves quickly enough, and it's a passably glossy entertainment, but, as Houdini, Pearce is too young...
07/18/08
Director Gilliam Anderson doesn't distinguish this generic romance from a thousand other costumed bodice rippers -- is a kinky handcuff scene too much to ask?
07/18/08
Pearce’s boys-adventure take on the vaudeville legend is a hoot, though not nearly as laughable as the dialogue or Zeta-Jones’s pitiful attempts at basic emoting.
07/16/08
Latest News for Death Defying Acts
December 04, 2008:
Report Warns UK Tax Credits Turning Off Co-Productions 
A new report claims that UK tax credits aren't sufficient to appeal to UK co-productions. The rules work well for UK films which are set in the UK but they aren't quite as... More...
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