The Prestige:You'll be talking about it long after it's gone.

Rating: 9/10 (22 October 2006)

The Prestige - Christopher Nolan's latest collaboration with Christian Bale in which magicians in turn-of-the-century London who battle each other for trade secrets. The rivalry is so intense that it turns them into murderers. Hugh Jackman plays level-headed showman Rupert Angier to Bale's unpredictable but brilliant magician Alfred Borden.
The performances are very good all around. I caught Scarlett Johanessan's fake British accent slip same as Natalie Portman's (V for Vendetta) once or twice. They must've had the same voice coach. Bale is sinister, seemingly omnipresent and omniscient, and usually the most watchable character on screen, though Hugh Jackman makes for excellent competition as a man getting down and dirty as he gives up all in a bid to be the best magician. Michael Caine is charming and talented support as always. I didn't even recognize David Bowie as Nikola Tesla; he was almost the real Prestige (unveiling of third act in a magic trick) of the film The tricks, while not as fantastic visually as in The Illusionist, are much more realistic and there is more of a desire to see them unveiled. The cinematography and scripting are top-notch, and the film has the wonderful dis-jointed yet well-paced quality that has come to be a trademark of Christopher Nolan. The film has some genuine suspense to it, and I can't tell anymore about the plot than this, but nothing and no -one is what it seems. The entire film is a magic trick, and the denouement is infinitely more satisfying, weighty and horrifying than that of The Illusionist. For a film titled after the shocking climax of a magic trick, this ending does not disappoint. The only question is whether the film is worth more than one watching. It also was a bit long, though I'm damned if I could figure out what to leave from it. Still, it'll undoubtedly be in my top ten of this year, so I'll give The Prestige an A.