The movie of the year - just make sure you're watching closely

Rating: 10/10 (10 December 2006)

Nolan film, check. Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale are the two main stars, check. A fantastic supporting cast, check. A gripping plot and subplots, check check. A worthwhile two hours, check. What more do you need?
Borden (Bale) and Angier (Jackman), two appealing magicians with so much potential, begin with a respectful and trustworthy friendship and end with feelings of mutual hatred and competitive streaks. Their aim to out-perform one another ends in occurrences of violence, conflict and tragedy. You see to the full extent how people are capable of abusing their own power for selfish gain and how extreme the effects can be on the people themselves and on those around them.
**MAJOR SPOILERS** The love interests, Olivia (Scarlett Johansson), Sarah (Rebecca Hall) and Julia (Piper Perabo) all stand at the heart of the magicians' competition and exploitation. Angier's need for revenge on Borden for the death of his wife involves him using new assistant Olivia as a way to discover Borden's latest and most genius trick which involves opening one door and coming out another. However, what he doesn't expect is Olivia falling out of love with him and in love with his sworn enemy, Borden. What this foreshadows is the tragic death of Borden's wife Sarah, who believed him to have had an affair with Olivia and loved magic more than her, when in fact there had been two Bordens all along - one loving one woman and one loving the other. Angier believes he has won - he has stolen Borden's daughter and put the wheels in motion for him to be hanged - but what he doesn't embark upon is that there is another Borden, the one who loved Sarah, still around and who ends up killing Angier. Of course, nothing is as it seems and the story doesn't end there - there are plenty more Angiers to go around... **END MAJOR SPOILERS**
I'd seriously advise many people to see this movie more than once, it really is that superb. However, there are some scenes of violence and the mood is very dark overall so I wouldn't recommend it to children below 14. Nolan, Bale and Jackman fans in particular won't be disappointed as this film marks what is possibly their greatest talents and performances so far. Michael Caine plays the stereotypical sidekick always around for advice and yet pulls the part off as usual, with Scarlett Johansson making the best of what she can out of being the shared love between the two protagonists. Watch out for memorable appearances by Andy Serkis (who never disappoints) and David Bowie who is surprisingly good in his role.
I give this movie 10/10 without a doubt. Arguably the plot goings-on are complicated but if anyone expected different, then they're missing the whole point of the The Prestige. Are you watching closely, asks Borden? I was. And I loved every minute.