Review: THE GREAT MAGICIAN leaves the rabbit in the hat

It seems like a number of years since Hong Kong superstar Tony Leung Chiu Wai graced our screens, but in fact it was only 2009 when the second installment of John Woo's epic RED CLIFF was doing the rounds. Perhaps because many A-list Chinese actors feature so regularly in major releases - Leung's co-stars Lau Ching Wan and Zhou Xun have each had two other films released in the past six months - that two years feels like an eternity. Leung has spent the majority of that period participating in the still unfinished THE GRANDMASTERS for Wong Kar Wai, and it was in fact during one of the numerous breaks in production that Leung starred in this comedy thriller from director Derek Yee.

Yee has enjoyed a string of critical hits in the past decade, including ONE NITE IN MONGKOK, PROTEGE and THE SHINJUKU INCIDENT, as well as success as a producer with Felix Chong and Alan Mak's two OVERHEARD films. His last outing as director, TRIPLE TAP, had been a notable failure, and THE GREAT MAGICIAN marks a deliberate change of style and genre from his previous films. It is also worth noting that all the films mentioned above featured actor Daniel Wu, who again pops up here in a brief cameo in the film's opening minutes.

Set during the Warlords Era of the early 20th Century, as the Qing Dynasty was collapsing and the country was fragmented and in perpetual turmoil, THE GREAT MAGICIAN is the story of Chang Hsien (Tony Leung), a famous magician who returns to Beijing after many years spent overseas. Chang is in cahoots with a band of rebels looking to kidnap the local warlord, General Bully Lei (Lau Ching Wan), so they can bargain for the release of one of their senior officers. It soon becomes apparent, however, that Chang has his own personal reasons for targeting Lei - namely that the General's 7th wife, Liu Yin (Zhou Xun), is Chang's estranged fiancée.

Lei is a relatively small-time warlord, and is facing serious threat from larger forces on all sides. This forces him into an uneasy coalition with a number of other Generals that could erupt at anytime. Lei is looking to buy a fleet of tanks from a Japanese industrialist, and is also dabbling in a spot of film investment as a potential propaganda tool. Suffice to say that the fearsome but rather simple-minded General has enough on his plate, not to mention seven jealous and manipulative wives to placate, that he is slow to realise who Chang is until he has already won over his trust.

Stylistically, THE GREAT MAGICIAN is clearly influenced by Jiang Wen's blockbuster LET THE BULLETS FLY, and much of the film's look (as well as historical setting) echoes that film. However, Yee's script is nothing like as smart as Jiang's and as a result the film steadily descends into broad comedy. That is not to say that the film isn't funny. Much of the comedy works on its own merits, but when General Lei defends himself in a knife fight using a pair of roast ducks as weapons, it is hard not to concede that the film has slipped into silliness from which it will never recover. 

The magic on display is largely impressive, and even through the medium of film, much of the sleight of hand and other conjuring tricks on display still dazzle. The film is at its strongest when Leung takes to the stage to perform his tricks and he is a reliably magnetic screen presence throughout. Yee lets the audience peek behind the curtain and see just how many of these tricks are performed and one can't help but draw comparisons to Christopher Nolan's THE PRESTIGE. However, THE GREAT MAGICIAN never attempts to be as cunning or duplicitous as that film, instead creating a carnival atmosphere designed to entertain but little else.

One disappointment is that Zhou Xun's character Liu Yin isn't explored further. For much of the film she is little more than a trophy for which Chang and Lei compete, but we do learn that her father was Chang's magical mentor and that she is one of the few characters with martial arts prowess. Sadly Yin is given little opportunity to use her talents and as a result it is difficult to fully appreciate the appeal of her character, despite the obvious allure of Zhou Xun herself.

Lau Ching Wan has proven time and again that he makes for a lovable onscreen dope and Bully Lei is certainly no exception. What is interesting is how the presentation of his character shifts as the film goes on. At the beginning he is presented as a volatile and homicidal sociopath, with a healthy misogynist streak and insatiable appetite. As the film goes on, however, he becomes more of a compatriot to Chang as the inevitable political element begins to seep into the script. The film culminates in all-out war on the streets between loyal supporters of the failing Empire, funded by opportunistic Japanese arms dealers, and the anti-imperialist rebels, while Lei is left all but on his own.  

In the end, however, it is the comedy that wins out over any political agenda and you never feel that you are being talked down to about anything more weighty than choosing the right future to wish for. That said, after all the showmanship and grand spectacle Yee dazzles us with for two hours, THE GREAT MAGICIAN ends with a fizzle rather than a bang that will glean little more than a shrug from the audience rather than rapturous applause. In doing so, THE GREAT MAGICIAN succeeds in delivering its pledge and its turn, only to sadly fumble the prestige, leaving us scratching our heads but without the sense of perplexed wonderment that comes from witnessing real magic.