Review of Magic to Win (2011) by Jy S — 01 Mar 2012

Wilson Yip's Magic to Win is uninspired magic. In other words, it is magic to lose.For a film that leans toward the fantasy genre, its concepts behind the plot are of more than an acceptable caliber.

It is when spanning nearly a 100 minutes that this picture fails. The lack of detailed explanations don't help, and the humor, if there is any, do not generate any chuckles. Magic to Win sort of meanders its way to a climax that is difficult to consider eventful.

The CG is colorful and pretty good, considering the rest of this film. There are some nice ideas behind the magical confrontations, although they never reach their full potential. All in all, the magic stands out as a highlight.

Newcomer Karena Ng takes the lead role, only to be thrown in the background for the film's finale and overshadowed by Raymond Wong, who does the best job out of everyone in this film. Louis Koo and Wu Jing are well underdeveloped and underutilized and Wu Chun ends up lost in the shuffle.

Magic to Win isn't a complete let down, but the disappointments still outweigh the positives.