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*** FIRST IMPRESSIONS:

I bought this effect... ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!!!, but much to my dismay... It's the same!!!!

If you have the Original Puncture from ~2006 (I'll refer to it as "Puncture '1.0'" in this review)... Keep this in mind, I paid $35 thinking that I would get a better/added/different gimmick... IT'S NOT!!!!

You do learn everything from Puncture "1.0", but Alex added some additional handlings and subtlties when handing it back to the spectators for examination. He definitely has put considable thought into his creation.

Paying $25 for Puncture "1.0" and then now another $35 for Puncture 2.0 was NOT worth it in my opinion. I felt ripped-off because since I have been performing it for the past 2-3 years, I just only added 1 little subtlety from this new DVD... NOT worth an extra $35.

I feel Alex/Paul should have sold this "new" DVD WITHOUT the Gimmick for a lower price for people who previously bought Puncture "1.0". This courtesy has been done numerous times with other effects. Richard Sanders did this with Extreme Burn "1.0" and 2.0... Bill Abbott did this with The Thing "Original" and Platinum. This is just to name a couple.

*** MAIN GIMMICK:

Good Quality and, as noted above, this is the SAME GIMMICK and PEN as with PUNCTURE "1.0".

*** BONUS EFFECT(S):

The Bonus Effect(s)?? Sure-- You get a special gimmick with this bonus effect, but I can NOT comment about this gimmick when referring to the price. Why??? Because it is a "BONUS". The money towards this DVD is towards the DVD of Puncture, NOT for a bonus effect... That's why it's called a "Bonus Effect". To me, this Bonus effect/gimmick is asinine and simply clownish. A 7-year child can figure it out and has whom I performed it for. Most magic kits on the market have a very simmiliar gimmick, but using a magic wand instead of a pen.

The color of the cap, although Alex does explain why he chose it, looks inappropriate for the black common pen. Using a gray cap instead of a black cap allows the spectator to see the effect better. Although this sounds rational, the idea of a gray cap on the everyday common black pen just looks odd.

Alex teaches about 3 effect with this Bonus Gimmick, including a "Pen through Dollar Bill" routine... Face it, there are WAY BETTER "Pen through Dollar Bill" effects out there than this junk.

*** PERFORMANCES:

The performances, although are never in front of a real live audience, are only in front of you (ie.: the TV/DVD viewer). I'm a bit biased on this missing detail considering I KNOW Puncture is killer material by my many own performances... Please take my word on this. However, I do understand some probable buyers may find this not reassuring... I am only telling you from my own personal opinion. Many may feel disgrunted by this devoid of important visual/audio reactions of spectators.

*** EXPLANATIONS:

There are NO Verbal Instructions (or performances) on the entire DVD... Just music for the audio. If you can read (English or Spanish), you will do just fine as Alex does explain the moves slowly and at different angles... This is good quality, but I would still prefer to have verbal instructions also. Reading the words while trying to follow the hand moves can get a bit annoying at times with any "How-to" DVD. None-the-less, he is still very clear and does show some patience with the learner.

*** CREDITS:

Alex does a fine job with crediting both the main and bonus effects.

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*** IN SUMMARY:

Okay, The Good News..........................

This effect is awesome!!!! If you don't have it, it is relatively easy to perform. You can pick up the "knacky moves" in a weekend.

The reset is..... Well-- What reset?

A borrowed quarter!!! Yes, even the pen can be borrowed as many offices, homes, schools have this very common pen type.

The effect is quick, but you can have a routine with multiple types of pen penetrations in the quarter.

And equally as important... It's simply KILLER MATERIAL!!!! I love how it looks like a "Hot butter knife slices through a stick of butter like a lightsaber would in Star Wars!!!!"

Bottom line....

If you have Puncture "1.0"... save your money.

If you do NOT have Puncture "1.0"... The investment of Puncture 2.0 will NOT make you sorry and it may be as practical and reassuring to carry this little gem as much as you carry a Thumbtip.

Lastly, don't let the Bonus Effect be a determining factor if you should buy this or not... It'll most likely collect dust in your drawer anyway.

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5 out of 5 Stars with reservations stated above.
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Hi salby

A good and Fair review. I myself have the original puncture with the 50 cent euro coin. I purchased 2.0 because I wanted the silver quarter which is similar to the uk 10 pence coin in appearence. I thought it might be a good idea for some dealers or alex himself to have some different value coins and from other countries manufactured for this effect so you could buy them seperate. And also it stated on the dvd " Quote,PUNCTURE 2.0: Complete with special new Puncture pen " This might of meant for the bonus routine. So I have paid £24 JUST FOR THE SILVER COIN...But I have to agree it is a fantastic effect and a worker you can carry around with you at all times.Alex Linian as done a good job, a good quality Dvd.But I agree with you that it could of been priced a little cheaper.

Graham.

I had a feeling this might have been the case so I bought Puncture 1.0 used a couple of weeks ago. I will echo what others have said though. This looks like real magic and the moves are intermediate and like Salby states, can be picked up in a weekend. Whatever version you get, you won't be disappointed.

By the way, I THINK I read somewhere that Garcia shows how to make extra gimmicks on one of his Daniel Garcia Project DVDs. Does anyone know which DVD this is on? It would be nice to be able to do this and let the spectator keep the spiked coin.

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Anymore thoughts for people who have this???
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Garcia Projects, Volume 2 has something similar to Puncture, except it involves the magician's finger

I luuuuv the effect of puncture (the original), but frankly the idea of borrowing a coin, puncturing it and NOT letting them keep it has kept this one on the shelf pretty much. Lets face it, to create something as cool as what the punctured coin looks like in the effect, and NOT be able to let the spec keep it tends to be kind of a let-down for the spec at times. Plus it's an opportunity lost (what greater word of mouth could there ever be on your behalf than a spectator telling friends and family about the amazing thing you did with THEIR quarter, and then being able to PROVE it by SHOWING them the punctured coin you allowed them to keep....thats not just a rep-maker,...THAT would be a rep guarantee for life..lol ). The day we can aquire 'give-away' puncture coins at a reasonable cost is the day that 'Puncture' can truly live and breathe in my humble opinion