Once again, why make it float to yourself (which would take a lot of mental effort) when you could go the easy way and physically take it. Criss Angel should change his name to "Captain Complicated"!

Because its way cooler to make it float to yourself than to grab it! lol I would make stuff float to me all the time if I really could even if it was like ten times harder than just walking over to it and getting it!

I'll admit that floating small things is cool. In fact I thought it was great when David Blaine floated a leaf in front of a tribesman. It almost looked like he had power over the wind, which is very impressive. However, the thing I'm having a go at is the "levitating onto a small wall" trick, an example of one of Criss Angel's bigger effects that isn't done with stooges or camera edits.

To detract a little from the subject at hand, people will watch, say, soap operas or sitcoms because the lives of the people on screen are interesting, and people can look at them and almost aspire to be them, or wonder how fun it would be to live in their world rather than the one they're in at the moment. Similarly when people go and see magicians, they are being presented with another world (the world of the magician, where anything is possible), which allows them to temporarily forget about their problems in their own world.

Presenting the audience with a glimpse of "your world" is entertaining because people can go away and think to themselves, "Wow, imagine what that guy must be like to live with, etc." I've often wondered what Derren Brown is like in everyday life - if he is working his shenanigans to pickpocket people, or conning them out of money, or calling up public phone boxes and hypnotising people over the phone line, or manipulating his friends' thoughts so everyone wants to do what Derren wants to do. The answer to that is probably not, but it's fun to imagine. Even if I were just chatting to him, or Channing Pollock if he were alive, or Paul Harris, not even about magic, I'd be so happy to be near them since it's like they emit an aura of entertainment. That is the sign of a good entertainer - someone who can entertain by just existing.

When I see that Criss Angel's world consists of floating onto small walls, stooges and camera tricks I can't picture him having any sort of entertaining life when he's off camera. Therefore I don't aspire to be him, nor do I find he has an aura of entertainment around him. He may do cool stuff, but so do brain surgeons. Brain surgery isn't entertaining (at least not to me) and nor is Criss Angel's magic.

Hmmm...let's analyze that question (actually three questions in a run-on sentence).

Do I think Chriss Angel 'sucks' as a magician?
That's too vague of a question to answer honestly.

Does he use camera tricks?
The general consensus is that he does sometimes use them.

Is he a real magician?
Do you mean is he a sorcerer using actual supernatural powers? I sincerely doubt it.

Does the person posing the question need to work on his spelling and sentence composition?
Definitely.

I cant vote in the poll becasue i do believe he uses a great amount of camera tricks and stooges. But i cannot say he is not a real magician becuase he has a great live stage show.

hes a good magician thats how he got his own show

first off i would like to say that magic is mainly about mistique, illusion, and entertainment.

i can honestly say that criss angel really brings that to television.
yes i like the old classic criss better. the hollywood style is cool and he has cool clothes and all. but he has had personal training to look and act more "TV" appropriate.

i know for a fact that he uses absolutely no camera "tricks" BUT, i also know that the cameras are tricked. by that i mean that they are set up in a certain way that would look really well on tv.

that being said, i think he is a really good magician. i mean the dude won magician of the year a few times wich is really not that easy. i love his sleight of hand work from older series.

i really hate his BS though. like knowing the exact thought someone is thinking. he also uses stooges. yep.

over all. very entertaining to watch. thats all that really matters. because nomatter what, there will always be someone better than the best.

I disagree with that, but Im not gonna try and start an arguement again.

don't even try to disagree with me on this i have personally met some of his crew, and his brother "costa". thats why i said i know for a fact.

I'm sorry, but something like Criss Angel being run over by a car can not be anything other than video editing. For starters it's definitely a trick. I doubt Amazing Jonathan would actually run someone over, nor would Angel actually risk his life in that way. On top of that, if it were real I don't think A&E would broadcast it, like with "Derren Brown: Russian Roulette" and Channel 4.

So, it's a trick. If it didn't rely on video editing they'd most certainly use a continuous shot to prove this. And even if they used cuts for dramatic effect, I'm sure they would have made sure not to cut just at the point the car hits Angel, and just afterwards, before you get to see him under the car.

Camera trick alert!

it's not the camera work. its an illusion. just like people do on huge stage shows except he does it in an "imposible to fake" atmosphere. just like the crawl through window. old trick new dog.

meeting his crew does nothing to prove your case.

DUHHHHHHHHH he uses camera tricks. so does blaine.magic is magic.

what. do you think if i met there crew that i wouldn't ask questions? i too doubted the "no camera tricks" stuff. i asked if he could do it right now and he said probably not, which leads me to beleive its the camera. but it isnt. its like. i used to have a trick were i would make a signed coin penetrate something. but i couldn't do it live to a person unless i knew them personally. its like that. he just get his freind together or just stooges and has them cheer. then they get the right angle on camera and wham. i still think he is good because he is making anyone who watches the show beleive in magic. and that is a good thing. then if they ever end up meeting criss he couldn't do it for them. and yeah i still think some of his stuff is bs. and i think he should do more "real magic". but stuff like the car hit or building float is fake as far as being impromtu and crap. i mean he is not in front of a lay adience