Controversy, controversy... where's Eminem when you need him?! On The Magic Cafe, I found a thread
discussing Card Warp. The question was, "is this effect overrated." My answer was yes. Before you
hang me as a heretic, let me say that I still think it's a decent trick. It just never appealed to
me even when I was a lay person, and it still doesn't appeal to me, so I don't perform it.
However, that doesn't mean that it's not a good trick, and it doesn't mean that there aren't
plenty of magi who love it. During this thread, it was recommended that I pick up a copy of Paul
Green's Card Ward Finale, so I did.
Paul's premise for this DVD is that he always felt that
Card Warp lacked an ending. He developed an ending many years ago for Card Warp, and that is what we
see on this DVD. This DVD is a one-trick pony. It's two performances of Paul doing his version of
Card Warp, and then the explanation. Also included is a history of Card Warp which quite frankly was
a bit boring and dry.
I've read a lot of Paul's writings over the years in The Magic Menu,
and I've always enjoyed his articles, and he's obviously a worker. This is how he's made a living
for years. However, this DVD wasn't all that it was cracked up to be, in my opinion. The ending that
Paul has developed is decent, but I don't find it to be much of an addition to the original. Again,
I'm not a fan of the effect to start with, but I thought that the original ending was just fine.
I will say this, Paul has a pretty decent method for getting into the effect and doing the
prep right in front of the spectators so that you don't need to have any pre-performance prep. I
don't think that this DVD is horrible, but I think the hype behind it was a little bit over done.
However, keep in mind two things. 1) I'm not a fan of the Card Warp plot to start with, so that may
be tainting my opinion. 2) Even if I were a fan, and my opinion isn't tainted, it's just my opinion.
It doesn't mean I'm right.
If you're a fan of Card Warp, the DVD is just interesting enough
that it's worth the risk of $20.00 bucks to purchase it and see if you like it.
