Criss Angel Mindfreak

The most magical thing about this show is that anyone takes it serious. The tricks aren't interesting, the acting is terrible, and the so called "reality" part of it is so silly. It's all so overly dramatic. Watch Angel and his nerdy minions create; overly dramatic spectacles and half baked, childish, schemes. Truly cringe worthy.

I caught this show on cable a couple of years ago. My first impression was that this was a cutting edge attempt at marketing to the Generatin X and Y audience. The host, and creator of the program is a Goth-Emo looking guy adorned with beads, piercings and grunge clothing. With his thick New York accent, Criss Angel markets himself as a magician to be reckoned with while incorporating his view and cursory knowledge of phenomonen and ESP.

The show is entertaining from a viewers initial perspective, but after closer review and attention one can see that he uses every cheap marketing ploy to buffer his image as a suave, sullen and mysterious being exuding wisdom, power and charisma. A once aspiring Rock musician, Angel sings his own cover theme song, "Mindfreak", which sends excruciatingly gnawing vibes to my ears. Angel doesn't even stop there. He intersperses his show with paid actors and extras expressing testimony to his awe-inspiring performances. Editing tricks, jumpcuts and cutaways are heavily utilized to bring credibility to these fantastic stunts, feats and backyard tricks.

It's like watching a campaign for a person running for office. About 60% of the show is dedicated to people, including Angel's family members, reacting to his stunts and expressing how ingeneous and gifted a soul he is. I know the paid actors cannot be rumors, because normally unbiased onlookers would show more indifference. Criss Angel may be a creditable magician, but he lacks an underlying charm. He comes across as sullen, arrogant and egocentric. Who else would dedicate 20% of their program employing a bevy of pretty girls as female admirers. This is narcissism at its most salient form. Criss Angel is undoubtedly a culprit of this. Magic should speak for itself. A true craftsman shouldn't rely on phony testimonials from people.

What really ignites my skepticism is that Angel delves into other areas outside of Magic. He claims to be an authority on every subject rather than a humble student of the arts and disciplines.

Criss Angel had his butt handed to him after receiving abysmal reviews of his new show, "Believe", which described the Vegas strip show as nothing short of atrocious.

The first time I saw this show, I said "wow, this guy is amazing." Then I realized that anyone with a video camera can do magic tricks. Don't get me wrong, this show is worth watching for the entertainment factor. Just remember that nobody can defy the laws of gravity, no matter how convincing he is. I would like to go see one of his shows live. He seems like a very good entertainer. However, when he says that he will leave something in one spot and then the camera cuts to a different angle, it makes you wonder if they touched anything. The reactions from the spectators often seem authentic, but for all we know they could be straight out of acting school. They all seem to be the same age. Plus the show is filmed in Vegas so who knows what kind of people they have there.

i see all these posts about it being fake and all and how Criss sucks for deceiving us..

well of course it's fake, and criss never said he was "magic" he said he was an illusionist.. which means he creates and illusion of magic, and you're left trying to figure out how he "faked" it..

and he does it in the most entertaining way...

The setups, the stunts, everything... all stuff that has never been "faked" before, at least not in the fashion Criss does it, and even though i know what he's about to do and that there's an episode after the one i'm watching, i still get a funny feeling whenever Criss is lying on a bed of nails or setting himself on fire etc.

He creates both real suspense and great illusion, which amazes me quite a bit.

I believe Criss Angel is worth watching. He is very charismatic and entertaining and his illusions are wonderful. Keep in mind as you watch, he is an illusionist and self-proclaimed provocateur. He is performing solely to entertain you and push himself to and beyond his own limitations. Finally, there is a show out there that can transport me to a time in my life where anything was possible. Naturally, the things he does(minus the stunts) are all pure illusion. Tell me, though, in this world of harsh, stark reality, isn't it nice to be "magically" entertained ? I live enough reality, I don't need to watch it on TV. I look forward to escaping for 30 minutes at a time with this HOT man who, incidentally, is my age.