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The Prestige (2006)

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473 out of 549 people found the following comment useful :-
A Stylish, Uniquely Twisted Period Piece, 5. Oktober 2006

Author: wordmonkey von San Francisco, Ca.

What "The Prestige" does very well is recreate a period of show business history near the turn of the century in which competition between magicians was serious and intense. The workings of the complicated illusions are gorgeously brought to life via smartly detailed apparatus that replicate the actual mechanics of Victorian legerdemain.

Much of the film rings very true, such as the all-consuming obsessions of the lead characters to be the best and outdo all others. It's an easy step to accept that such unwavering determination spills over into deadly territory, as rival magicians suave Rupert Angier (a riveting performance by Hugh Jackman) and audacious Alfred Borden (Christian Bale effortlessly playing a brooding lower-class Brit) each seek to wreak continuing revenge upon the other.

The story, though adapted from a novel, feels like a perfect fit for director Nolan's sensibilities, as the machinations of the two men become increasingly convoluted during a back-and-forth tug of wits that keeps you guessing in the style of Nolan's "Memento." As the game grows increasingly deadly, and threatens to consume all they love, the film becomes a fascinating study in single-mindedness.

The work is epic in sweep, beautifully filmed, and strongly acted. The only odd note in casting is David Bowie as Nikola Tesla (he looks nothing like the actual Tesla, if you care about these sort of things, and his appearance calls attention to itself as superstar casting often does), but Mr. Bowie holds his own. Solid performances are all around, with Michael Caine adding dignity and depth as the old master, Scarlett Johanssen as the as the lovely stage assistant who becomes the third point in a twisted love triangle, and even Andy Serkis (Gollum!) in a memorable supporting role.

The introduction of Tesla adds yet another twist, as the film shifts from real-but-possible stage illusion to steam-punkish sci-fi. This transition is a hard note to pull off, since the beginning of the film doesn't quite suggest such a direction, but if you're willing to let Nolan lead you on the journey into increasingly fantastic realms, the narrative rewards you with thought-provoking moral and dramatic exploration of the issues raised.

A truly entertaining movie, and an original, unusual, dark ride -- well worth seeing in a theater for its grand scope and vision.

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367 out of 473 people found the following comment useful :-
This movie fills the screen and your mind., 21. Oktober 2006

Author: girlwithpen von United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I couldn't help myself. I just kept saying "wow, what a beautifully crafted film," all the way home, and around my house when I arrived home. I have not been so captured and entertained in a long time. I was especially enamored with the screen writing and how tightly and beautifully the visual metaphors tied in with the writing, and with the impact of the human message about obsession, competition and retribution carried to the extreme.

One can relate to this personal human struggle for victory over another at all costs on a much grander scale, as the two magicians could easily be symbolic of how leaders of countries come to blows with each other, at the expense of their women and children -- something we struggle with right now in our world. There are deeper layers of this film that will be uncovered over time.

Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale and Sir Michael Caine all contributed stunning, emotional performances. Rebecca Hall, who played Sarah to Bale's Alfred Borden, turned in a highly charged performance as well, making Scarlett Johansson's Olivia flat in comparison. And although some people thought the plot line a bit tedious, I found it to be refreshingly complex and engaging, while not being so complex as to lose you. If you can't follow this one, you've been watching television too long. And who cares if the illusions are mundane or scientifically unbelievable? Isn't that what both movies and illusions ask us to do? To suspend disbelief? Meantime, there's a message in its madness. Hello.

The film is visually moody and evocative, easily transporting you into the time period. What more could you ask for? A film is a visual medium and this one is a visual ten. The acting is superb as well as the plot. It keeps you interested; it keeps you guessing right to the shocking but most appropriate end.

It asks you, what is one willing to sacrifice for the "prestige?"

I think this one's an Oscar definite.

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435 out of 615 people found the following comment useful :-
Oscar Alert 2006: ''The Prestige'', 12. Oktober 2006

Author: movie_man2006 von Brazil

This is why I'm considering 2006 the best year for movies in this decade. When I think I've seen enough excellent movies, one more just pops out to stun me. Christopher Nolan has proved to everyone how he is a spectacular director. After the magnificent ''Memento'', he continued a great career with the great ''Imsonia'' and the thrilling ''Batman Begins''. Now, he defines his career with ''The Prestige'', a mysterious dramatic thriller that proves to be his best movie since ''Memento''. The story revolves around two starting magicians, Rupert Angier and Alfred Borden (Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale, respectively), who start a friendship that eventually turns into rivalry after Rupert's wife is killed in a magic trick that went wrong. After that, the two start trying to discover each other's secrets, and ruin their tricks. It all changes when Alfred discovers the ultimate trick: the Transported Man, a trick that will make Rupert lose his mind in order to decipher it. ''Prestige'' is not a movie for everyone. It has a great amount of twists and turns, and has the ability to leave people shocked and confused. It is a love it or hate it type of film- and that's exactly what I'm afraid of. This movie is one of the best movies of the year (behind ''The Fountain'' and ''The Departed''), and marks a new beginning to the career of those involved in it. Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman give out powerful performances. One man is confident and cool, while the other one is just losing his senses. I can imagine no other actors to portray these characters. Scarlett Johansson provides another good performance, and Andy Serkis is a vital part to the movie. The film also features a solid performance of David Bowie, playing an expert in electricity. Michael Caine is worthy of praise here, delivering another great performance. The movie, technically, is brilliant. The period of time portrayed (Victorian Era, curiously also shown in another magic movie this year, the weak ''The Illusionist'') is taken to perfection. The costumes are great, effects are truly believable, and the photography is stunning. The script is groundbreaking, offering great solutions and stunning twists. No doubt about it, this movie will suffer of an evil that another brilliant movie, ''The Departed'', suffered this year: people will criticize its ending. If you ask me, it was brilliant. This is a dark movie, one that may give you creeps through your body. And I love it when a movie can give me this feeling. The pace of the movie is non-linear, and that gets in the way a bit. But it is, beginning from today, one of my favorite contestants to the Oscar. Sure, this is not an Academy type movie. But if the Academy takes the idea of honoring the best movies of the year, than this movie will be there. A movie with the power of becoming a cult classic, ''The Prestige'' is magical. In every sense of the word.---10/10

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317 out of 438 people found the following comment useful :-
Outstanding acting performances worth price of admission, 16. Oktober 2006

Author: iohefy-2 von Charlotte, NC

I went to see a critics preview of The Prestige this afternoon and to my surprise I found the film to be one of the best I have seen all year so far, and that writers can come up with an excellent script it they would only try a little harder. The acting performances by Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale and Michael Caine were the best I have see in a long while. The only objection I had to the film was that it was a little long, but once you leave the theater you will discuss the film and it many twists and turns. My wife and myself discussed it all the way home from the movie theater. This is a winner and should be up for some academy award statues, and my recommendation is go see this as soon as you can, you will not be disappointed.

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290 out of 385 people found the following comment useful :-
A Nutshell Review: The Prestige, 20. Oktober 2006

Author: DICK STEEL von Singapore

I've said it before, but I'll say it again. Christopher Nolan can do no wrong.

Teaming up again with his Batman Begins cast of Christian Bale and Michael Caine, and joined with the Scoop team consisting of X-Men's Wolverinie Hugh Jackman and Scarlett Johansson, the stellar (eye candy) cast already set tongues wagging as to whether they'll be able to live up to the hype of Nolan's long awaited movie directly challenging the other picture about Victorian magicians, The Illusionist.

The Prestige is the third act of any magic trick, with the first and second acts being the Pledge and the Turn. And this movie lives up to its namesake to a T. The way the movie plays out, it's like a huge magic trick, with the audience waiting to see how it unfolds, getting the suspicion on how it's done, but yet sitting through it thorough engaged to discover how everything will be revealed and resolved. It tells the story of how two magicians, fellow apprentices turned unfortunate rivals, plod down the slow path of jealous obsession, revenge, and the deliberate attempts to go at lengths to steal each other's ideas, to go one up against the other, a fight in romance, life and the long held passionate drive to discredit each other. There are perfect explanations of the value of secrets, and how secrets can sometimes be used as tools for deceit.

What I thought was valuable in the movie was the reinforcement of the notion of how "magic" actually worked. Besides the better understanding of the common body of scientific knowledge, things like having pretty assistants to distract, and having planted staff amongst the audience, somehow made me a sceptic to tricks and illusions, and try harder to spot at which stage had things undergone a sleight of hand. More importantly, it introduced me to the notion and importance of a loyal engineer behind the scenes who designs elaborate contraptions solely for the magician's use, and how having disloyal staff can indeed be detrimental to any leaks of secrets.

And Michael Caine took on this engineering role as Cutter, responsible for assisting Rupert Angier (Hugh Jackman) with loyalty and conviction that they could, as a team, beat Christian Bale's Alfred Borden. I thought the cast in general were superb, with Christian Bale leading the charge. Hugh Jackman too showed that he could play a dark character, as the two leads tackled their characters' theme of sacrifice, arrogance, and ultimately redemption, especially for Rupert Angier. I thought he did what he did towards the end was a kind of penance to what happened in the beginning, hoping to kill two birds with a single stone, to exact the sweetest revenge he could possibly muster. What also was intriguing about the two lead characters was that there is no right or wrong, no hero or villain. It's always a shade of grey in what they do, and for Alfred Borden, I felt it's more for survival and the provision for family, which is a strong subplot running through the film. I just have to mention though, that Scarlett Johansson being Esquire's Sexiest Woman Alive, gets to play a flower vase role here as a magician's assistant, though her role as the pawn between the rivals added a little gravitas.

The atmosphere was set up great, and so were the costumes and sets. The soundtrack was hauntingly mesmerizing, capturing the look and mood appropriately. Look out too for David Bowie's appearance as a Russian scientist!

I was floored by the deftness of how Nolan weaved and juxtaposed the non linear narrative so flawlessly. While the usual techniques is to use placeholders, or flashback sequences, colours etc, here, time is so fluid, but yet the audience will know precisely which era they're in, without being explicitly told, or working too much of the noodle. You just know, and it's just that feeling of being totally transparent with time. Even though the movie clocked in at slightly more than 2 hours, you don't feel its length at all.

At the end of the movie, one quote popped into mind: Misdirection - what the eyes see and the ears hear, the mind believes. Quite apt to describe how things work out during the movie, or to describe in general, Nolan 's films so far. That added richness to lift the movie to a superior plane. Do yourself a favour, if there's one movie you absolutely must watch this week, then Prestige must be your natural choice. It's smart in delivery and slick in presentation. There is none other.

P.S. Is it just me, or are notebooks a common feature in Nolan's movies?

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210 out of 269 people found the following comment useful :-
Storytelling at its best!, 21. Oktober 2006

Author: Craig Estrella (Surecure) von Toronto, Canada

The Prestige is a masterful exercise in storytelling with superb direction and powerful performances by a grand ensemble cast. From set and production design to cinematography, from script to presentation, Christopher Nolan has once again demonstrated why he is one of the film world's brightest up and coming directors. The Prestige only helps solidify his standing as one of the landmark directors of his generation.

Told in a narrative that jumps between various points along its time line, playing out like a magic act itself, the story is that of two magicians on the rise in their careers. The first -- played by Christian Bale -- is an expert in understanding the fundamentals of any trick, but lacks showmanship. The second -- played by Hugh Jackman -- is a master showman who is more entertaining than technical. A tragic series of events pits the two performers against each other in a battle of wits that spirals further and further out of control, consuming both of them and everything and everyone they care about.

With a story that requires actors with a great deal of emotive range, Nolan has assembled what could be described as a dream cast. Both Bale and Jackman suit their respective roles perfectly, and pitting these two performers against each other was a stroke of casting genius. Michael Caine takes what could have been a forgettable role by any lesser actor and elevates it with his demanding screen presence. Probably the most surprising performance comes from David Bowie whose unforgettable turn as master physicist Nikola Tesla absolutely shines. Add Andy Serkis to the mix, and what is assembled is a group of performers who know how to fully engage the audience.

The Prestige is hard to pigeonhole into any specific genre as it walks the fine line between mystery, drama, suspense and fantasy. In that, the story becomes a never-ending stream of wonder for the mind: one can never tell exactly where the story is going to lead next, becoming more and more as time goes on. This gives Christopher Nolan ample opportunity to play. And play he does. With narration by several characters, each adding their own viewpoint to the events, and with a direction that moves between time to mystify and distract, the end result is a climax that itself is a series of puzzles that each unravel beautifully.

The only major criticisms that can be leveled at the Prestige are a confusing play with the seasons during Tesla's introduction (winter suddenly becomes spring/summer and back again) and a strange choice of music for the closing credits (a pop song at the end of a film such as this seems tacky). However, neither is significant enough of a problem to warrant any need to avoid the film at all.

In the end, the Prestige is a fantastic display of what can be accomplished when you bring together superior talent. It is certainly worth the price of admission and as good as any magic show you are to come across.

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297 out of 446 people found the following comment useful :-
One of the best movies EVER, 19. Oktober 2006
Author: Heather Henderson (UrbanFilmCritic) von United States

What makes this movie so incredible is that while it is indeed a movie about magicians (or illusionists) it is also a complex character study about how self destructive obsessions are with a sideline love story and a sci-fi twist. A unique plot with an amazing cast--any of whom could believably garner an Oscar nomination. Christian Bale was amazing in one of his rare cockney performances. We already know from Kate and Leopold how well Hugh Jackman plays a distinguished English gent. He's absolutely priceless. Is there any point in discussing Sir Michael Caine? He brings polish to the movie.

This is the kind of flick that you can discuss for weeks after. The plot is so detailed and complete and open to interpretation. My friend and I have been discussing various nuances of this film for the past 3 weeks. It definitely stays with you.

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235 out of 348 people found the following comment useful :-
Amazing! twist after twist!, 22. Oktober 2006

Author: Faisala von United States

I have to say this is one of the best movies i have seen this year, i was not expecting it to be that good. There's twist after twist, and when you think there is no more, there will be. Great performances and ever better plot. I highly recommend this movie to all ages.

New idea for a movie, and they succeeded it at it greatly. It will have you thinking every time you see a magician on TV!

i had to give this movie a 10/10, and i only have 4 movies that i would rate that way in my life time. If there is anything you do this year, make it a trip to watch this movie!

I hope you enjoy it as much as i did.

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215 out of 314 people found the following comment useful :-
Prestigious, 20. Oktober 2006

Author: jtothedovez von United States

The Prestige. I am impressed. I am a HUGE fan of Hugh Jackman and bought the book as soon as I heard he would be in this movie. I read it and enjoyed it, but wasn't especially fond of it. But I still had been really looking forward to this movie.

I went to the first showing opening day (Friday, Oct. 20th) with 2 friends and sat a row behind them, alone, to enjoy it peacefully. I loved it all.

Christopher Nolan really has a gift at directing. The way the movie cuts back and forth between different places and times is clever. Although some might be confused or left stupefied, others will be happy and glorified. The movie will keep you guessing the whole time until the very end. The script, acting, settings, props, everything was so well-done.

Hugh Jackman was excellent as the angry, obsessive magician trying to gain back his life by revenge. Christian Bale was equally impressive as the mystifying, secretive showman, never letting out his secrets until necessary. Michael Caine rocked in supporting everyone else's parts with his curiosity. The rest of the cast rounded out nicely and helped out where need be. I really recommend this movie to a sophisticated audience who doesn't mind a long, mysterious movie.

And man, what an ending.

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253 out of 403 people found the following comment useful :-
This was an amazing movie!, 20. Oktober 2006

Author: Julia-Dempster von United States

This was the best movie I have seen in at least the past two years. Most movies have me leave the theater feeling like I wasted 8 dollars or so. So many movies lately have left me feeling like I wasted away precious hors of my life that could have been spent doing better things. Yet this movie was truly a masterpiece and kept me guessing the whole time. The acting was superb and so was the plot. I usually can predict the outcomes of movies pretty early on. And usually I can see the twist the writer planned. With this movie I was still left wondering into the last 5 minutes of the movie. I can't wait to own this on DVD.

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