Reviews of The Prestige

A Prestigious Act

Posted : 3 months, 1 week ago on 12 September 2009 03:12 (A review of The Prestige)





An H.G. Wellsesque type of sci-fi thriller told thru the modern directing & co-writing talents Christopher Nolan.
And while this pic isn't as grand as The Dark Knight, I must admit, I found myself enjoying the story in this one more. For it's premise, The Prestige is overall innovative & cohesively engaging.






A fantasy plot of the age of early 20th century magicks whose complex twists & turns eventually all complete their spiral turns to lead into a surprise climax that the viewer can still satisfyingly comprehend & enjoyably appreciate.
That is, if the proper amount of suspension is applied to one's belief. And when it comes to magic, let's be honest: no matter how physically impossible it may seem, at a certain level, we all want to believe.






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Misto

Posted : 3 months, 3 weeks ago on 4 September 2009 04:05 (A review of The Prestige)

Un film bun. Chiar foarte bun. Misto actiunea, povestea si interpretarea.

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Magic!

Posted : 1 year, 4 months ago on 26 August 2008 04:27 (A review of The Prestige)



''Never show anyone. They'll beg you and they'll flatter you for the secret, but as soon as you give it up... you'll be nothing to them. The secret impresses no one. The trick you use it for is everything.''

Having been firm friends, a friendship turns into a deadly rivalry. When Alfred performs the ultimate magic trick, Robert tries desperately to find out the secret to the trick and to use it for his own means. Obsession turns the two men and begins to unravel their lives...

Hugh Jackman: Robert Angier

Christian Bale: Alfred Borden

The Prestige is based on the book by Christopher Priest. The story is about two entertaining magicians who become rivals, ever since a terrible occurrence transpires, a friendship that turns to rivalry, a rivalry that turns deadly. Friendly rivalry becomes an obsession. Their obsessions over trying to discover how the other does the trick, or how to upstage said trick, could turn into a life threatening game.

Firstly this came first, and does not reveal all twists right at the end, like cop out wannabe The Illusionist.
The story is in a word mesmerizing. You cannot help but stay focused, and throughout the film you want to know what will follow. There are many twists and turns within the snake shaped plot, There is a quote in the movie that is used throughout, "Are you watching closely?" You need to be paying close attention and The Prestige is better appreciated when given multible viewings.

''Every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts. The first part is called "The Pledge".

Besides all of the various twists, the acting and casting are phenomenal.
Hugh Jackman was a big surprise success as Rupert Angier, who's choices for deep films like my Fave Fountain isn't just a chance occurence. Prestige shows Hugh Jackman is a deep man and he's got an excellent agent to boot im guessing.
Christian Bale is always on top form in anything mostly, and gives life, depth and a very convincing accent to his character Alfred Borden.
Michael Cane as Cutter shows us a veteran hand, Nolan, Bale & Nolan in a Batman successful collaboration once again.
Scarlett Johansson was also very good as Olivia Wenscombe. Piper Perabo makes a short appearance but very effective and memorable.
Even Legend David Bowie and Andy Serkis popped up as Nikola Tesla and Alley.

Christopher Nolan's Prestige achieves in getting across a tale of dueling magicians, resulting in high quality entertainment and drenched with darkness, true to Nolan's style. Prestige isn't a battle of words, but one where actions speak volume. The film is full of mirroring and doubling, so it's not surprising that the magicians' feud mirrored by Nikola Tesla's equally dangerous rivalry with Thomas Edison over the electricity that may or may not be the key to the mystery...if there even is one at the core...

''The second act is called "The Turn". The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary.''

Magic is the perfect equation for both stories and film-making, in the way the film could almost be an allegory about why movie buffs usually make the worst movies. Each protagonist is an incomplete man in every sense of the word. Bale has the genius but not the ability to sell his illusions to an audience. Jackman has the showmanship but not the originality to create a truly great trick. In the middle is Michael Caine's engine, the backstage genius with the surprisingly shaky cockney accent, caught somewhere between director and ghost writer in the scheme of things.

''Because making something disappear isn't enough; you have to bring it back. That's why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call "The Prestige".''

Ultimately, it's a film that could be about everything or about absolutely nothing, one that is either led entirely by plot differentiating or one where the themes and storytelling dictate the characters' actions far more than credibility, and where the biggest trick is that ultimately there is no trick. All interpretations seem equally valid, which is part of the fun and puzzlement. And best of all, it's a joy to behold.

''Now you're looking for the secret. But you won’t find it because of course, you're not really looking. You don't really want to work it out. You want to be fooled.''

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The Prestige review

Posted : 2 years, 1 month ago on 10 November 2007 05:45 (A review of The Prestige)

I prefer the Illusionist to this movie, not that I didn't like this one. It's more predictable than The Illusionist, but the story is still well presented and crafted so that the suspense builds up until the very end when all is revealed. It keeps you guessing about what will happen next, and entertaining to watch the amazing tricks and illusions this movie has to offer.

In this film, two magicians become rivals and attempt to out show the other in their business. They each try to learn from each other and present themselves so that they can be shown as the best performer. We are shown many flashbacks which just add to the suspense of the film and the surprise when what we are trying to discover is revealed.

Towards the end it's a hard decision which of the two magicians is the good one, and who is bad. I get the feeling that both are good as well as evil towards each other, the thoughts still stay with you after the movie finishes. High Jackman and Christian Bale worked perfectly together, and Michael Caine just added to the amazing cast. Scarlett Johansson played her character beautifully and even David Bowie gave it a nice touch.

If you haven't already you really should see this movie, this should not be missed and if you liked The Illusionist then you really should give this one a try. They have a similar story but both have a unique twist at the end.

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The Prestige review

Posted : 2 years, 10 months ago on 10 February 2007 09:42 (A review of The Prestige)

The acting in this film is definitely one of its strong points. I don't recall seeing any other film quite like this, but at the same time I also thought that the storyline was rather drawn out. I did find myself getting a little bit bored throughout the middle of the film, and as one previous reviewer stated, there was a fairly obvious secret behind the principle magic trick in the film.

I was disappointed to see Scarlett disappear completely from the film towards the end (Maybe that was just another magic trick!), especially when her cleavage had done much to wake my from my day dreams partway through the film.

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The Prestige review

Posted : 2 years, 10 months ago on 3 February 2007 01:59 (A review of The Prestige)

actually I have a question that can not understand all the time : it seemed Michael Caine knew Bale´s secret ( ******* ), but when ? from the outset ? if he knew that , I think he should tell Jackman the truth, because he did not like Bale at that moment.

lol, by the way, I really do not like that ************-Tech in this film.

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great magic film

Posted : 2 years, 10 months ago on 30 January 2007 10:51 (A review of The Prestige)

Similar in theme to the Illusionist, I found Prestige great, awesome acting by Bale, yet can't list this movie as a clear favorite because of one problem: for a mystery, it's way too predictable. I figured out Bale's secret about half way thru the film, so the 2nd half of the movie with all the build up and suspense to reveal the 'secret', well, it was just way too obvious, and it did end up being obvious. and then Jackman's magic, well, it borders way too much into fantasy sci-fi. bottom line is story feels way too forced.

Overall, I recommend it as its a good watch, worth price of admission, worth a rental or even a DVD purchase, but if you want a real magic/mystery story, with a completely stunning twist at the end, see the Illusionist instead.

p.s. what really irks me is that since everything seemed too obvious, i started assuming a major twist would occur with Scarlett's character, and perhaps she's involved in some way with both 'secrets', but instead, her character just stopped being on screen during the last 20 minutes of the film. what a letdown. she seemed like such a pivotal role, and then, nothing, almost like she got fired off the set.

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The Prestige

Posted : 3 years, 1 month ago on 5 November 2006 03:38 (A review of The Prestige)

If you watched The Illusionist, you will also like this movie. Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale did a very fine job in carrying this film to a very well crafted closing scene. This is a told dark tale of revenge cleverly done by Christopher Nolan. In the movie, the two illusionists try to outshow each other with increasingly more grand illusions. Each tries to sabotage and gain the other's secrets. Some of the secrets of illusions that we learn from watching the movie are really fun to discover. The story line bounces around with flashbacks, but it just adds to the suspense and desire to find out what will happen next. The movie could be watched by all members of the family, but it does have a dark tone to it and may not be appropriate for younger children. Hope you enjoy your next outing to the movies.

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