One of the most engaging and impressive character pieces I've seen all year

Rating: 10/10 (6 November 2006)

"The Prestige" got some bad reviews early on, and at one point it was listed on RottenTomatoes.com with less than 30% fresh rating. I went to see it, as a result, with mixed expectations. On one hand, I think Christian Bale is the next great method actor and I firmly believe Christopher Nolan is on the pathway to really carving out a name for himself in Hollywood (beyond the fanboy audiences). He's still being advertised as "The Director of Memento and Batman Begins" but soon it will just be "From Director Christopher Nolan."
As for the film? Exceptional. Inventive, unique and twisted. Bale and Hugh Jackman deliver career-making performances. It's by far Jackman's best performance on film (in a serious role) and one of Bale's best, which is saying a lot. This guy can do anything. It's amazing to see him in "The Machinist" a few weeks ago and then turn around and see him here. Within the past year alone he's moved up many ranks in my book. (Of course, I don't have a book. But if I did...)
The film is dark, and its blend of reality with sudden fantasy may throw some viewers off. But I don't think it's a cop-out, as some people have claimed. It's just Nolan's style. Batman incorporated many different genres and themes that one wouldn't necessarily expect from, of all things, a Batman film - and here The Prestige delivers some magical material that I didn't see coming. Even knowing the ending ahead of time (after it was ruined by an ignorant IMDb user who thought it would be funny to spam people with the ending), it still came as a shock in delivery.
What I finally felt so satisfied with was the film's direction, acting and character development. With a lesser director it could have easily been a lame exercise in style over substance and a flashy, gimmicky ending. Nolan elevates it and the two lead performances are really engaging. It works as a morality tale as well as an intense character study that has you alternately rooting for both men to succeed. And the film changes perceptions of past events so often that by the end you're kind of sitting there, shocked that it's played out so vastly different than what was expected.
Chilling, gripping movie. Had me consistently engaged from beginning to end, and I'd say in some ways it's the most well-made Nolan film yet.