Magicians is a 2007 British comedy film released on May 18, 2007. It stars comic duo Robert Webb and David Mitchell as stage magicians Karl and Harry respectively. The two magicians compete together in a magic competition, despite their personal differences. The film is directed by Andrew O'Connor and written by Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain, who are also the writers of the Channel 4 sitcom Peep Show, which stars Mitchell and Webb. Other principal cast members include Jessica Hynes, Darren Boyd, Steve Edge and Peter Capaldi, as well as Andrea Riseborough.

Harry and Karl are two of the best magicians in the business. Together they have performed various magic tricks, in a variety of shows, with Harry's wife as their assistant. One day, during a show, all is going well. Harry compliments Karl and his wife on their performance so far. Harry sets off to see their manager when his wife tells him that she and Karl need to have a talk with him. Harry then makes arrangements for a set of shows on a cruise liner. He returns to the stage only to find his wife in a box on a table. She tells Harry not to open the box, but he does anyway and finds Karl and her naked, having sex. Karl tries to explain the situation to Harry, who simply shuns him away and tells them both that they should pretend that this never happened for the next hour of their show. The show resumes with a guillotine trick. Harry's wife is locked into the guillotine, only for the blade to cut her head off, leaving everyone is in shock.

Four years later Harry is working in a Wilkinson hardware store. One day he attempts to sell some knives to a costumer by creating an illusion of him cutting his arm severely with the blade. The people who he is attempting to sell the product to make a complaint about his sales techniques, and Harry is fired. Karl, now sporting a beard, is currently known as the Mindmonger. He has his own agent, Otto, who is working with him on his new look and act. Harry tries to find new ways of supporting himself. He makes a vain attempt of applying for a new credit card, which fails when he tells the assessor about the accidental murder of his wife. Karl attends a meeting to attempt to impress a television corporation, but the only person they manage to impress is the tea lady, who Karl immediately gets a crush on.

Harry applies for a job in a magic shop, but fails to get it. He soon sees a poster for the "Magic shield" competition, with a prize of £20,000, and decides to enter. Harry trys to find a new assistant and recruits the only applicant, Linda, even after her terrible display of dancing. He then calls a depressed Karl and gets him interested in the competition.

Otto complains about the flight over to Jersey. Harry however has taken the Condor ferry and encounters fellow magician Tony White, a wannabe. At the first round of the competition Harry and Karl meet for the first time in four years and show no emotion whatsoever toward meeting each other. On meeting the competition organiser, Mike Francis they are immediately put through to the second round but want to go solo from there onward following an argument about the past.

David Mitchell as Harry: A traditional stage magician. He had a successful double act with Karl, until he finds out that Karl is sleeping with his wife, who he then accidentally kills. The two go their separate ways.
Robert Webb as Karl: A more modern magician. Has a successful double act with Harry, until he sleeps with Harry's wife, sending the duo then go their separate ways. He performs in International Magic Shield tournament under the pseudonym "The Mindmonger".
Jessica Hynes as Linda: Harry's new assistant who he recruits for the International Magic Shield tournament.
Darren Boyd as Otto: Karl's agent.
Peter Capaldi as Mike Francis: The competition organiser.
Steve Edge as Tony White: A wannabe magician.
Andrea Riseborough as Dani: The "romantic element" of the film.
Real life magician "Aladin", makes a cameo appearance in the film.

The duo had not expected to star in a film at this point of their careers, with Mitchell stating that "it probably came much earlier than we thought we would do a film. It landed very fortuitously on our doormat." At first, Mitchell and Webb were not considered for the roles of Harry and Karl, but O'Connor changed his mind a "it became clear they could do these parts really well. And we thought, well, wouldn't it be great to do our first movie with people we know, because we really admire and enjoy working with them". Unlike most other Mitchell and Webb projects, Olivia Colman does not have a main part in the film. O'Connor explained that "Olivia was part of the development and did some read-throughs with us. I guess our feeling was that because of the relationship between [Mitchell and Webb] and Olivia in Peep Show, to have taken that same relationship, it would have been a really weird thing for the audience. I must say I think she'd have been great in the part, she was great in the read-throughs, I just thought we couldn't have done that." Mitchell admitted, the day before the film's release, that he "really got into" his role as Harry.

Mitchell and Webb were taught basic magical skills for the film, with them each receiving "welcome pack of DVDs telling the history of magic". Andrew O'Connor was a member of the Magic Circle but was thrown out for revealing secrets, so he and Scott Penrose taught Mitchell and Webb magical skills. Webb spent two weeks "trying to roll a coin across [his] fingers and [he] still couldn't do it", with Mitchell admitting that "magic proved far more problematic than we anticipated". Webb stated that the worst part that he had to film "was being buried up to the neck in sand. It's not the most comfortable place to be. I'd be buried for 30 minutes at a time, which doesn't sound that long, but it was the middle of summer and there were a lot of wasps around." Mitchell had to kiss Jessica Hynes in the film, but admitted that he would have preferred to have kissed Robert Webb as he had done in Peep Show, which he claimed to have been easier, as for that scene he had to "look absolutely rigid at the time". On the subject of the scene with Hynes, he stated that "the scene went surprisingly well considering we had to do it in front of 700 extras, but if I'd had a single moment more to think about it I'd have been mortified with embarrassment." Whilst filming in Nottingham, unit signs being used in the film were repeatedly being stolen be teenagers as they had the word "magic" on them. Multiple signs had to be ordered, at £3 each. The magic shield competition takes place in Jersey, but the filming for these was done in Skegness.

The film charted poorly at the box office, generating £150,000 is in second week, placing it sixth at the British box office.

MRIB said that "the laughs can seem a little sparse" but went on to say that "director Andrew O'Connor makes sure the quality jokes that do surface get more than a few chuckles." Empire reviewer Olly Richards gave Magicians three stars, concluding that "The bumbling charms of the stars just about pull this through, but there'll be few calls for an encore come the final curtain." Derek Malcolm said that Mitchel and Webb "don't exactly cover themselves with glory in their first feature film. But they just about reach par." Going to describe the film as a "bit of a mess", although it "raises a few laughs". Alison Rowat called Magicians "an hour of OK telly trying to pass as a film", and gave it two stars. Stuart McGurk gave a negative review, citing that "for a much-anticipated film, this is a huge let-down", and that it lacks "the eclectic off-key cruelty and spot-on zingers of the much-revered Peep Show", although he did say that the film "still has the odd good line", but concluded by saying that anyone "expecting anything else will be sorely disappointed". The Guardian's Phelim O'Neill gave Magicians two stars, calling it "Peep Show the sequel", and stated that "O'Connor's direction has absolutely zero visual flair, making the performers' transition from television to film rather pointless." The Times' Dominic Maxwell decided that "Magicians doesn't have the brio (or great gags), let alone the marketability, of a Bridget Jones." Caroline Westbrook gave the film three stars, and gave it an even review, stating that "There's a lot to like about Magicians, especially if you're a fan of Mitchell and Webb", although it "ultimately feels as though it's lacking something". She concluded that "It's a perfectly agreeable way to while away an hour and a half - but don't expect to remember much about it in the morning." UK based website Mansized gave the film two out of five stars, declaring that, "the big screen combination of Mitchell, Webb, Armstrong and Bain should have been magic but, sadly, it was all just an illusion." Digital Spy gave the film a positive review, and three stars concluding that "A must for magic and Peep Show fans alike, with some original and brilliant comedy moments."