This is the classic 3 wish from a Djinni set up, although there's a strange twist in which the Wishmaster can actually grant wishes from pretty much anyone and take their souls without really telling them what is going on. He basically goads them into saying they want something. The whole thing is meant to be a wink to the audience, but as a universe with a set of rules it doesn't make sense and the whole enterprise feels curiously like there's no way the Djinn haven't already taken over the world.
The central plot is that whomever awakens the Djinni gets 3 wishes and after those are cast all the Djinn take over the earth. Of course, the awakener Alexandra never has to say "I wish" or anything like that and the Djinni can apparently appear as different people and try to trick her into asking for things. Again, the classic wish rules are applied sloppily and as a result it's hard to care about anything that's going on with the plot.
Andrew Divoff is the Wishmaster here and he has a unique presence and an indelible voice. He's well cast. There's some awful CGI that hasn't aged well at all, and a lot of the wishes lack top-notch creativity. There are however, two scenes of pure orgiastic destruction that make the watch worth it - statues come to life, people are torn to shreds (one person has his skeleton literally come to life inside his body, it's amazing), chaos and panic ensues. These scenes are meant to show off the prowess of special effects maestro Robert Kurtzman, who's also the director here, and they work. But as a storyteller, he's not at the same level.
The central plot is that whomever awakens the Djinni gets 3 wishes and after those are cast all the Djinn take over the earth. Of course, the awakener Alexandra never has to say "I wish" or anything like that and the Djinni can apparently appear as different people and try to trick her into asking for things. Again, the classic wish rules are applied sloppily and as a result it's hard to care about anything that's going on with the plot.
Andrew Divoff is the Wishmaster here and he has a unique presence and an indelible voice. He's well cast. There's some awful CGI that hasn't aged well at all, and a lot of the wishes lack top-notch creativity. There are however, two scenes of pure orgiastic destruction that make the watch worth it - statues come to life, people are torn to shreds (one person has his skeleton literally come to life inside his body, it's amazing), chaos and panic ensues. These scenes are meant to show off the prowess of special effects maestro Robert Kurtzman, who's also the director here, and they work. But as a storyteller, he's not at the same level.