My Buddies and I's Honest Review of TnR

Ok so we went out while i left it to download (It wasn't very instant but that's because my internet connection sucks). We were really anticipating something really good, especially because the rest of things theory11 have released have been deceptively simple and very good. So we finally got it, put it on and watched it and was kind of disapointed.

The production quality is slick and very cool as is the norm with T11, Chris Kenner gives a short intro to his history with torn and restored effects and then cracks on with showing how to do Mathieu Bich's TnR. Without exposing, theres a gimmick that doesn't come with the DVD and can't be bought from the site seperately. Kenner goes on to explain the construction of the gimmick which takes up most of the DVD/Video.

The construction of the gimmick is what got to us, without revealing too much it's annoying to construct and is fiddly and there's part in particular that we both don't see any point to doing. Kenner explains it really well but that doesn't make up for the fact that the thing itself is quite frustrating. I would gladly pay for the gimmick, if Theory11 decided to make and sell the gimmick it would be a much more convenient and alot less frustrating trick to do. It's also going to cost you quite a few cards to make and peform if you plan on doing this trick over and over to many people.

In the end, we don't think this is worth the money or time especially when there are other torn and restored effects that are practically impromptu or require very little setup which is nothing compared to this. It's a shame because we both love Theory11 and everything they've put out so far and were really excited by this trick. Theory11 rocks, but this doesn't.

It's just an honest review that we both wanted to put up here because we were pretty pissed off about this.

p.s
If you're going to leave replies just to complain about one or two spelling mistakes i've missed then don't, I obviously can speak engrish (that's deliberate irony, it proves my point you see).
 
Sep 1, 2007
885
0
36
Jamestown, NC
www.google.com
This review is fair enough and I believe that you are entitled to your own opinion(s).

However, I just want to remind you that while there are other "torn and restored" effects out there that are gimmickless...that doesn't make it better than TnR.

Also, at a website like this that produces quality material time and time again...it really isn't fair to give a few sentences describing that you don't like an effect due to the cost of making your own gimmick. If magic wasn't a worth while hobby/career, people wouldn't bother with asking people to construct their own gimmicks. I believe that there is a reason why they did not include a gimmick with TnR...possibly because they saw how difficult it might be to mass produce and possibly found that there is room for customization.

I remember Wayne or Jonathan posting that the possibilities are endless with TnR. You can do so much with it. You don't HAVE to do it the way that it is explained on the DVD. If anything, I'm sure that's what they want you to do...to go out and explore the possibilities.

So, fear not...watch it again, and this time give it more of a chance. Who knows, you might find it to be worth while.

Shane K.
 
C

clarrus

Guest
for me, this was an eye opener in the world of making your own gimmicks. I love it
 
ok so i am the buddy he was refering too.

as the dude above me said, i know you do not have to perform it like that on the DVD i already have my own perforance set up which would work perfectly.

however i understand the acheviement of creating your own gimmick and the problem with mass producing this one, but simply we do not think this one is worth it. as darren said there are different torn and restored effects that are practicaly impromptu, but they do not have the dramtic ending as TnR.

we made the gimmick, several times actually and still did not have any joy or compensating that this is like early on and it could work out, but it simply didnt we performed it and it did not suit us.

we did not like it at all and it pissed us off big time, well me anyway. mathieu has an amazing mind, how he though of this **** is beyond me, hes a full on ledge. but this trick im happily giving a miss, wasted a few hours of our lives.

as it says this is OUR HONEST review, not yours, our opinions, your entiteled to your own but these are ours so there is no point in trying to pursuade us or give excuses on why we should attempt to want to carry this trick on any further.

thanks.
Shmore
 
Krash -

I understand what you're saying and agree that it would infact be pretty hard to mass produce the gimmick and I think it is customizable and that's always a good thing but there's only so much you can customize with the gimmick itself. I think the customizing would be more in the performance (which i thought was a bit long to build up to the actual trick) which is very flexible and could be adapted to fit any performance style. You could do the performance included with the DVD or launch straight into the restoration. But however you perform it the fact remains that the gimmick is the troublesome part (for me atleast). I understand your point though and maybe it will grow on me, but as Shmore said I don't think i'll carry on much with it.
 
Oct 3, 2007
173
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germany
i understand where your coming from, but i think that it is a very good idea for T11 to publish a trick in which one has to create your own gimmick. Personally, being quite new to the art of magic and flourishing, i have my opinions as to what "true magic" is. Although i like gimmicks and the effects you can pull off with them, i sort of feel like its cheating a bit; because even if the gimmick requires skill to use, YOU didn't make it. TNR gives me the satisfaction of knowing that i spent time in preparing for this effect and that, even if the idea of the gimmick wasn't mine, i put the effort into creating it, using my own hands.

so basically what I'm saying is that i like the fact that i can say "maybe i am using a gimmick.. but i made it myself." meh, just my opinion ;) and perhaps I'm slightly biased as well considering this is the only torn and restored effect that i own.

Your opinion of course is perfectly valid and i must admit that i agreed wholeheartedly untill i performed it for a couple of friends of my parents' (i just happened to be carrying the gimmick in my pocket, lucky me :p) and got a pretty good reaction, for a first performance to anything other than my mirror.

anyhoo. *ends miniature wall of text*
thanks for the review :D
 
Sep 1, 2007
1,595
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Venezuela
I think that you have to admit that the effect is AWESOME.. if y dont like making gimmicks, or it doesnt suit you thats because of YOU as a magician but not because of the trick, not every trick suits everybody its a shame that this one didnt catch ur eyes.. well but mine really did, I love the effect.. its simple, creative, and WONDERFUL for me 5/5
 
It's not that I don't think the effect is awesome, I do, I think the effect is amazing. As far as i'm aware there's no other torn and restored effect with the twist ending or the simple, very open "touch the edges" restoration. I just don't think the extra change effect is worth the effort and cards when considering that a simple restoration of one card is amazing in itself. As far as spectators are concerned if you just ripped up a card and put it back together with nothing but your hands thats magic, and the extra change is simply even more magical. I understand it's your opinion and your entitled to it but for me i'm happy with with using a more efficent torn and restored effect and that ends with me being alot more "clean" and getting almost as good reactions.
 
Sep 1, 2007
168
0
The effect is awesome and even the gimmick is awesome, but it's WAY too hard, frustrating, and time consuming to make. I'm disappointed as well. A pre-made gimmick would be nice.

Zeus
 
Sep 1, 2007
586
0
Cornwall
i made the gimmick the first try, and i have a crasp load of old cards to destroy...(although most are JUMBO faces lol)

only hard part for me was attatching the cough
glove

d
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dh
sd
h
d
 

Justin.Morris

Elite Member
Aug 31, 2007
2,793
888
Canada
www.morrismagic.ca
Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you only have to do the setup once for a number of performances? So...now that you have "done the setup", do you not have a gimmick to use repeatedly "nearly impromptu"?

So if the effect is better, cleaner etc., and you have finished the hard part.... tell me again why you would not do this versus say, Torn?
 
Sep 1, 2007
168
0
Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you only have to do the setup once for a number of performances? So...now that you have "done the setup", do you not have a gimmick to use repeatedly "nearly impromptu"?

So if the effect is better, cleaner etc., and you have finished the hard part.... tell me again why you would not do this versus say, Torn?

I don't know who your asking that to, but for me the gimmick just isn't worth all the time, effort, and frustration. The longevity of the gimmick depends on how well you make the gimmick and how well you treat it. Let's just say that the gimmick isn't very durable, and making an average gimmick just won't do the job. It almost needs to be perfect and it's way too frustrating. The second part of the construction is very tricky, annoying, and a word I can't say because it would expose.

The effect's awesome, and if you have confidence in creating this gimmick and are willing to give all the effort needed, then get it. But for me, it just doesn't work out and was a complete waste of money. Not because I didn't put any time or effort into it, because trust me I did, but when it comes down to it it's just not worth it in my opinion.

That's my take.
Zeus
 
jtmorris

I agree completely with Zeus375, once you have spent the time and effort into making the gimmick and setting up the deck you could perform this multiple times. However the gimmick eventually will "die" after at the very best 5-8 performances, also if you wanted to carry the gimmick with you so that you can do it nearly impromptu then it's probably going to become "dead" alot faster.

As for TnR vs Torn, i'll assume you own both TnR and Torn. Ignoring the gimmick construction and with a personalized performance of TnR the setup times are pretty much the same (I think i might be being a little generous there). So the difference maker is the card changing at the end of TnR, however Torn can be signed. I think a signed card being restored and a card being restored and changing is almost on the same level, so for me atleast that just brings everything back to the TnR gimmick. It's simply not worth it in my opinion when Torn is almost if not just as powerful as TnR and 10x less frustrating.

If there was a way to do TnR with the change and be signed, then it would be perfect and probably worth it. But I can't think of any possible way to do that.
 
Sep 1, 2007
1,005
3
weeeeelllllll... torn is difficult in the actual performance, I mean holding those dang pieces aligned can be quite tough.

i don't mind a bit of work for a good effect, but... by re-using the same gimmick are you always have to change the card at the end into THAT card only (unless you make a new gimmick?) thanks
 
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