It's an enjoyable film, albeit the plot is quite derivative. Visually, it's nicely polished, especially for a first time director (and what an impressive cast). However, the enjoyment of this film is without a doubt enhanced if you're into card magic and/or gambling scams (obviously), considering the abundance of references and inside jokes directed at magicians. Regardless, I feel that it's a quite a milestone for the depiction of magic on film.

As a movie I would give it a B-. The Vernon character (Townsend) and Charlie Miller (Gabriel Berne) gave good performances. Griffith and Stallone proved again that acting ability and box office superstardom are unrelated. Stallone looked like he had just been thawed out. The gambling jargon was certainly authentic but I wish the director would have had one character explain to another character what some of the terms meant so the viewer could appreciate the nuances of the cheating techniques. This could have been during a chat between Jennings and Miller or Vernon. I'm sure the Café members didn't need such extra info but the average movie goer would have certainly.

I loved the movie - partly because I always enjoy "sting" plots, but mainly for the magic references.

It's fun watching for in-joke and points of interest like the magician doing the 21-card trick, the name of a bar on a sign, or the two-second shot of Joshua Jay in the castle.

I suspect 99% of magicians would enjoy it.

I just bought and watched the DVD. I enjoyed it. The story flow is more like "Snatch" and other more artsy movies than mainstream films, which may be challenging for some viewers. But it sures looks pretty--well shot and edited (okay, Stallones' make-up looks like...make-up).

I'll agree that the name dropping was a little heavy-handed in places, but the insider treats were great, especially the 21 Card Trick in the Castle and name of the restaurant where the shoot-out took place.

I seldom watch all of the extra features on DVDs, but this will definitely be an exception.