‘Criss Angel’s Magic with the Stars’ Recap: ‘The Greatest Levitation of All Time’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the series premiere of ‘Criss Angel’s Magic with the Stars’.
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One thing that we can all agree upon, is that magic outright fascinates us. Which should be an impossibility. After all, this is the age of information. Where the internet removes the power of mysticism and can teach us any magic trick out there. Not to mention, we as a society seemingly don’t believe in such matters anymore. Yet… magic persists, and any time we see a quality illusion, one that defies convention and logic… we are captivated by it and eager to see more. All because there really is something quite special about magic and the escape it provides our minds with is intoxicating to say the least, and one such person that has helped to keep the wonder of magic alive in this era of information… is Criss Angel.
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Because in many ways, he has reinvented magic and how it is presented to an audience. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that he invented some illusions that are just mind boggling in how they are performed. In fact, they are so good that no one has figured out how he pulls off such incredible feats and that has inspired so many others to pursue magic and see if by chance they can wow an audience like Criss and pull off illusions of his caliber. And there are enough folks asking those questions now, that Criss opted to partner up with The CW to create, Criss Angel’s Magic with the Stars. A competition series where celebrities will learn his greatest illusions and try to replicate them and wow an audience in the process and as it turns out… ‘The Greatest Levitation of All Time’ revealed to all of us, that being able to walk in Criss’ shoes is a very real possibility. 

For Corbin Bleu and Miles Brown were able to replicate all of the illusions that Criss sent their way. Which was just incredible to watch. Because it meant that these two actors were treated to the truth about how Criss pulls off his mind-bending magic. Granted, we weren’t privy to the specifics because Mister Angel rightfully wants to guard his secrets from the masses. But it was cool to see snippets of Corbin and Miles work to land the steps to creating an illusion and know that they got firsthand lessons from a true master and of course, it was equally as amazing to see them perform these illusions and wow the crowd in the process. But above all, seeing them work to recreate Criss’ patented levitations was perhaps the true highlight of this episode, since it spoke to the enduring legacy of Criss’ innovation and spoke to the reality that yes… everyday folks can do this.

But obviously just letting us know that people can indeed replicate epic illusions with some tutelage from the best… isn’t enough to really inspire awe in the average viewer or someone aspiring to be a magician. We need more, we need to really understand this craft and what goes into the work since this is a mysterious profession and Criss found a way to do that as well. For he and his intrepid hosts, offered constructive criticism and observations regarding how the illusions went, before scoring them to declare a winner and that… gives the audience exactly what they want. Since this helped for us to learn how much discipline and work goes into creating illusions and how it is so much more than coming out on the stage and mugging for the camera before creating an illusion that leaves people wondering how the heck it was accomplished.

It requires discipline and hard work, and most important of all, a connection with the audience and a real sense of honesty, and this is what inspires others to take part in this. Since it gives them more to master than the illusion, and it adds depth this competition show, one that is just an absolute delight to watch. Because magic is and will forever be fun and it’s just wild to see people replicate these illusions and of course… to hear what the judges and our host have to say. Because in addition to Criss’ powerful insight, we are also treated to master magician Lance Burton’s thoughts on the craft and the performances of the contestants and Loni Love from E! News offers up balanced insight as well and having Eddie Griffin host… leads to some quality laughs. In the end, this is just a wonderful show to watch, and it will be interesting to see how other celebrities handle the task ahead of them as season one continues along. Until next time.

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