The Trick with the Gun (2015) User Reviews

As Penn Gillette says, "All magicians are liars."

[sarahandstephen · 6/10 · 11 March 2020]

It's an entertaining enough watch, but once you realize that this entire documentary is part of his opening patter to the trick, you realize you can't trust any of the story, including his friend's arc. All magicians are liars.

The trick with this movie

[dsuggitt · 3/10 · 24 May 2016]

OK, let me tell you the major flaw with this movie....The movies main focus is the relationship between the two friends. The shooter and the shootee:the magician. From the beginning of the movie we are pulled into this strained relationship, and I wouldn't have a problem with that except for the context of this relationship. The magician has a problem with the shooter. He wants to make sure he can shoot straight, so he grills him about going to the shooting range and practicing and so forth. The shooter claims throughout the documentary that he is more than capable of doing the job and therein lies the basis for the movie. Now, for the problem....Obviously the shooter does not need to know how to shoot a gun! This is a magic trick, and as such, no one will be in danger because no one is ever going to shoot a gun at the magician. If you want to see how this trick is actually accomplished just go on wikipedia. Their are many different and very simplistic methods used to create this illusion. So, this is why whenever the magician is talking to his friend the "shooter" there is much rolling of eyes and obvious befuddlement. I can imagine the cutting room floor is filled with lines from the shooter exclaiming "Why should I learn how to shoot when there's not even going to be a shot fired!" And that is the feeling one gets throughout the documentary. The most ridiculous moment in the movie comes when the magician is practicing catching tennis balls in preparation for catching a live bullet....Yes, I actually just typed that.....He also claims that he will actually not just catch the bullet, which of course is impossible, but he will catch it as it bounces off his chest....Yes, I also just typed that as well. Do they makers of this movie think we are all 5 years old? This documentary is complete rubbish, and an insult to anyone with an IQ above 100. I think if the makers of the documentary were a little more honest with the whole thing, this could have been much better. Sadly it has the feel of just another "reality show" where nothing is real at all.