Reviewers cast ‘Believe’ as bad beyond belief
November 3, 2008
Photo courtesy L.A. Times
At long last, the Criss Angel-Cirque du Soleil collaboration “Believe” is open to the general public. The show held a black carpet opening on Halloween. And how are those reviews that have been so hard to come by?
Reed Johnson of the L.A. Times says “Believe” is, in a word, unbelievable. Of course, he’s a critic, so he loves to use more than one word:
“Believe” suggests less an artistic marriage made in accounting heaven than a shotgun wedding of clashing sensibilities in which the shotgun messily discharges en route to the altar. Indeed, the smeared blood and entrails are piled high and deep throughout “Believe,” the most death-obsessed show to emerge from Sin City since “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.”
Doug Elfman of the Las Vegas Review-Journal (who has been openly critical of the show) said it was terrrrrrible (sic):
I had heard firsthand from some people who had seen “Believe” that it was abysmal and maybe unfixable, creatively. So my expectations were rock-bottom low (although open-minded), when I saw it Friday on opening night. And yet, it was EVEN WORSE than how it was described to me.
Is anyone going to back Angel up? Heck yes. Other magicians. Jeff McBride, Steve Wyrick, Lance Burton and Penn & Teller are all on the record in support of the Mindfreak. Said McBride:
“I think Criss has a really unique vision and an incredible commitment to trying something new and I think that will inspire other magicians to push the envelopes and take risks,” McBride said. “He seemed very focused on the work and very absorbed in the exploration and execution of the new effects in his show. He seemed very happy and pleased.”
The true judge of Believe’s success will be the ticket sales, of course. Until then, it’s good to see magicians backing up one of their own.
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It’s reviews like the first two that really just intrigue me even more and make me WANT to check out the show!…Usually when a piece of entertainment is given a negetive review, I’ve come to believe that it’s because the critics either didn’t understand what they were seeing, or their original entertainment-processing sensebilities are ‘bass-ackwards’. In most cases I’ve also discovered that the popular, well-paid critcs are DEAD WRONG!…Have I seen the show?…No….Am I going to see it?….Probably not because I live in Kentucky….If it comes out on DVD will I buy it?…Hell yes, critics be damned!
The show looks like a play. I mean come on, a magic show usually consists of a magician doing MAGIC. I think the show may be a little bit too unique.
I saw the show on October 21st. i thought that the darkness of the show was great but the magic was very lack-luster. you could see the trap doors open and close and cables when criss was floating. the magic was very dissapointing.
I do not and will never support Criss Angel. He is arrogant, cocky, a jackass and will never fit the profile as a magician in my eyes. I absolutely can’t stand that guy.