Film The Prestige

[animal_cookie]

a borrowed summary because i suck at summaries:

From acclaimed filmmaker Christopher Nolan, comes a mysterious story of two magicians whose intense rivalry leads them on a life-long battle for supremacy full of obsession, deceit and jealousy with dangerous and deadly consequences. From the time that they first met as young magicians on the rise, Rupert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) were competitors. However, their friendly competition evolves into a bitter rivalry making them fierce enemies-for-life and consequently jeopardizing the lives of everyone around them. Full of twists and turns, THE PRESTIGE is set against the backdrop of turn-of-the-century London, the exceptional cast includes two-time Oscar® winner Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson and David Bowie.

i thought this was one of the best films of the year. very well done and very well acted. i enjoyed how the movie focused on one man's obsession and the toll it took on his life.

 

[alasdairm]

Film: The Prestige

rate this movie

alasdair

 

[wizekrak]

Looks great, I'll definitely see it sometime this week. The team of Nolan and Bale is enough to sell me on it.

 

[alasdairm]

yep - nolan and bale seems as good a reason to see it as any. i think i'll go see it this afternoon.

alasdair

 

[indelibleface]

I just finished watching the movie earlier tonight. I thought it was good, but the conclusion was a tad disappointing. The movie contains a lot of excellent build-up to a climax that just didn't deliver for me.

The end felt like a bit of a cop-out, and a lot of the hidden plot elements were revealed in the end with one of those Spielbergian scenes where the protagonist explains everything to the antagonist for the benefit of the audience, just in case they were taking a bathroom break for the entire film.

But, the bulk of the movie was fun and fairly intriguing, and you can't go wrong with Dr. Tesla being played by David Bowie!

 

[NHBfighter]

I thought the movie was top notch! I gave it 5 stars, probably the best movie I have seen this year.

 

[alasdairm]

saw it yesterday and enjoyed it thoroughly. i like how the plot unfolded like a magic trick itself: the pledge; the turn; the prestige.

highly unusually for me, i worked out what was going to happen at the end before the end. i particularly enjoyed christian bale's performance, nice cameo by magician ricky jay and scarlett johansson's awesome rack

alasdair

 

[thujone]

The end felt like a bit of a cop-out, and a lot of the hidden plot elements were revealed in the end with one of those Spielbergian scenes where the protagonist explains everything to the antagonist for the benefit of the audience, just in case they were taking a bathroom break for the entire film.

I'm not gonna see it.

...and scarlett johansson's awesome rack

I mean, yes I am :D

 

[L2R]

I felt mixed during this. I found it too predictable (in some major parts) and silly in others. While the film is well made and acted superbly, the story didn't do it for me.

Spoiler: the prestige

Wasn't the Bale twin super obvious?
First there's the revelation of the two birds, and one gets killed.
Then he instantly teleports into the chicks room.
Then there's the wife who freaks out and can tell whether he's lying about loving her or not on alternate days.
Then there's the unexplained and obviously disguised bale following him around.

Well, derr, of course there's a twin or double.


One weak plot element was that the Bale twins, while sharing everything else, did not share the secret of which knot the original used on Jackman's wife at the start, so when Jackman kept asking the double, the double truley didn't know. This ridiculous decision was made simply for plot developement. I hate it when they do that. It distracts from the story for the sake of the pliot.

Granting all this, i did not see much of the end coming up. The hows were still very thrilling and suspenseful. Actually, the major climax was almost painfully thrilling.
My least favourite Nolan film so far. But standing next to his other (fantastic) work, this doesn't say much.
3/5

 

[dshock]

"Looks great, I'll definitely see it sometime this week. The team of Nolan and Bale is enough to sell me on it."

Plus the fact that "momento" director chistopher nolan directed it.

 

[NikkiNumberNine]

If I had not already read the book, I would have been quite confused at the twisty plot. And I thought the ending was weak. But David Bowie was great, and Ms Johansson's cleavage is indeed noteworthy. Worth seeing, definitely.

 

[Lady Chaos]

I just saw this in the theater and I loved it! Definitely one of my new favorite movies.
Isn't the Tesla character based on a real person?

 

[alasdairm]

^ it's based on nikola tesla.

alasdair

 

[Banquo]

yeah, this movie kicks ass in a big way. directors/storywriters have been getting away with uncredible plot twists for too long. it's refreshing to see something that makes sense and is more than a gimmick. i think this is one of the year's best, and christopher nolan continues a top-notch run.

 

[Klue]

Spoiler: the prestige

I had no idea about the twins at all.

It wasnt obvious to me! I had no idea how it would end and it couldve gone for another half an hour I reckon. I like movies where there is a whack timeline with flashbacks and stuff. Very Clever.

Definantly catagorised well as a thriller.

Spoiler: the prestige

But those poor birds getting squashed.

 

[fruitfly]

^ You should consider using the spoiler tag.

Just watched this last night after the clerk at City Lights told me David Bowie plays Tesla in it. I liked it! I've seen The Illusionist (another 19th-century magician suspense flick) and I think this one is far superior. Scarlett Johansson's accent bugged me but Christian Bale excels (as he usually does) and I found myself really enjoying Hugh Jackman's performance too.

 

[Klue]

Sorry and thank you alasdair about not wacking those spoiler tags. Clean forgot. Wont happen again.

 

[dshock]

great movie, just saw it. Was a bit dissapointed in the ending, but only because it didn't pan out the way I wanted it to. Oh well though. Great acting, and everything else. Scarlett johansen was a little weak on the acting tho, I only say this because I've seen her act better in other movies, although she was very pretty, as she always is.

 

[Fanny Batter]

Is ok, thought Caine and Bowie were best along with Scarletts rack...Jackman fucking dreadful...

The last shot actually infers some real magic.

 

[Benefit]

Very good acting from Michael Caine and Christian Bale. Mediocre acting from Bowie. Below average from Hugh Jackman; it was a very unnatural performance.

Production values were high; London exterior sets and costuming were nice but would have preferred more polished look instead of all the drab colours, it had a dilapidated feel. As stated in one of the supplemental features on the DVD, they were not shooting for a period drama with this film. They wanted to give Victorian London a distinctly different feel. Bad decision in my opinion.

Non-linear narratives are always fun and clever when done right. As long as rearranging the narrative timeline fits well within the tone and scope of the film, I have no problem with it. When directors misuse it, it becomes a gimmick. I don't think this one was gimmicky, but Nolan seems to rely on this storytelling technique a lot. In any event, the plot unfolded in a way that was convoluted but still accessible. I was able to follow it even though I was pretty drunk and kept getting up to finish eating an 8 ounce block of cheese, probably due to the neat and concise summary at the end. Loved the doubling and parallels were carefully inserted.

I liked The Illusionist better, even though it cheats more in its depiction of "magic." Found it more entertaining, and felt The Prestige didn't take full advantage of the Victorian England setting. On the other hand, Scarlett Johansson is so much more breathtakingly beautiful than Jessica Biel that it might be a draw.