Magicians is a film which will have me thinking for a very long time after I've watched it. But what does it leave me thinking? How do you get so many talented comic actors cherry picked from some of our finest sitcoms, and then make a comedy this average? I considered blaming a poor writing team, only to find it had the same writers as Peep Show, one of the best british comedies to come out of the best 10 years. But then suddenly, it hit me. This is what happens when you try and mash everything good about Britain's range of comedies into one film. Yes, they got some of our finest comic actors and then got them to play exactly who they are in their biggest show only with a new name. Mitchell and Webb are playing Mark and Jez from Peep Show, Jessica Hynes is playing Daisy from Spaced just as Peter Capaldi is playing my favourite comedy character of all time, Malcolm Tucker.
Trying to blend all these together just doesn't work. The awkwardness of Mark and the stupidity of Jez works brilliantly in Peep Show, where you are given a genuine first person view of their lives and how they see the world. Jessica Hynes character of Daisy worked in Spaced, but as with every other character in Spaced mainly down to the perfect chemistry the whole cast had throughout the series. As for Malcolm Tucker of The Thick Of It fame, while I still found his expletive ridden insults funny it just felt wrong. Like stealing someone else's prize cow and using it's sweary milk to try and cover up the fact that your cereal is actually made out of sawdust.
Magicians could of been a great film, it had the potential to be funny and all the right elements to become a British cult classic. But somewhere along the way, something went terribly wrong. What we're left with is a poorly executed and predictable comedy which isn't likely to even make you smile that much.
3/10
