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
How does the Tomatometer work 
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
Get This Movie
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...
Related Forums for Death Defying Acts
RT On Current TV
What’s Hot On RT
Fresh Links
Featured
Appreciating Michael Jackson
TIME music critic Josh Tyrangiel remembers - and appreciates - the high peak of Michael Jackson's career in the early '80s.
10 Best Picture Noms?
With the Best Picture Oscar noms now 10 deep, BuzzSugar looks at 10 films that should have made the cut.
Successful Sci-Fi Sequels
Sequels never used to be as good as the original, but now they can be even better. Can Transformers 2 follow suit?
Films That Time Forgot
The AV Club's Zack Handlen explores why Snowbeast has been dismissed and forgotten.
IGN RSS Feeds