Criss Angel Review

When you, a magician, look at another magician performing a trick, how do you judge his or her ability? You could look at the "external": how the trick looked and felt. You would have to ignore your knowledge of magic in order to make such a review becuase you'd have to forget about the "internal" aspect of the trick in order to make an "external" judgement. On the other hand, you can focus on the "internal": how difficult the trick was and how well it was pulled off.

Let's illustrate this with an example: suppose you've just seen a magician perform an Ambitious Card routine. An external review could be this: "The magician was really funny and was able to really connect with the audience. If I was a laymen, I think I would really enjoy watching this charismatic performer. There was a lot of magic contained in the routine and a lot of great moments." An internal review could be this: "The routine was pretty easy from a sleight-of-hand perspective. I wasn't impressed with his double-lifts, nor did I think the pass was up to par. He needs more practice in that area."

The question of reviewing something externally vs. reviewing something internally rests with how you think something should be reviewed: should it be reviewed solely based on how one would receive it (external) or should you also consider everything that went into the trick, even the stuff the audience doesn't or didn't see (internal)?

When commenting on the first two episodes of Criss Angel's Mindfreak, it's hard to resist an internal review, especially since I've talked at length with many of the people working on the show. Criss didn't just do magic for this special: he wrote the script, wrote and performed the theme song, oversaw the editing of the series, and acted as a de facto Director of Photography. With only one person doing all this, it's pretty amazing the special was as good as it was. After watching the episodes multiple times, I'm increasingly impressed with how much Criss put into the specials.

But that's an internal review. The audience (including most magicians) didn't realize all that went into the special. However, the question remains to be asked: should they? With Criss doing almost everything himself, it's no surprise that one reviewer would remark that "it appears everything comes down to whatever best feeds Angel's ego at the moment" (from John Ruch on Magic Mafia). Criss also seems to be confused as to what his show is: is it a behind-the-scenes reality show, surreal art piece, or David Blaine rip-off? I enjoyed each of those segments, but I don't think that the segments flowed together well. Actually, they didn't really flow at all. You get the feeling that Criss has made a shitty collage out of the remains of true masterpieces.

In terms of the magic itself (a sort of internal perspective of the external aspects of the show), I found myself pretty stunned and impressed. I think a lot of that credit should probably go to Johnny Thompson, who was Criss' advisor on the special. (He's also the father of Criss' surreal family on the show, as well as the magician who calls Lance Burton and says, "I'm in a van with a bunch of magicians. We're going to burn one.") Some may argue that the show was "too perfect," that even though those who know people who worked on the special know that NO camera tricks were used (some stooges though), most may find the tricks so unbelievable that they suspect some kind of digital trickery. I think a disclaimer ("No camera tricks were used") would make the special stronger, but I think people realize that, unless this stuff was real, this wouldn't be a magic special (it would be a demonstration of special effects).

This was all a long-winded way of saying that (a) the specials were highly watchable despite its lack of identity, (b) Criss and his team are highly creative individuals pushing the boundary of televised magic, and (c) no matter what, the exposure a series like this provides is invaluable to professional magicians. Just make sure that you have something prepared the next time somebody asks, "Can you levitate like Criss Angel?"