An interesting story about two disgusting characters.

Rating: 6/10 (20 February 2017)

This film addresses the intense rivalry between two illusionists who try to overcome and injure each other after a serious and fatal accident in a joint show. It's a story of unbridled rivalry, revenge, pride and vanity. The film has many merits but the main one is the script, the story that tells us. There are some more predictable parts, others seem initially incomprehensible until the movie explains everything. The ending is one of the most positive aspects as it's totally unexpected and, in fact, makes everything else worthwhile. Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman played the main characters, working very well together and showing us the best of each other. They are brilliantly aided by veteran Michael Caine and by Scarlett Johansson. David Bowie is a surprise, but was quite reasonable in the role of the famous physicist Tesla. In fact, the whole cast did a good job and met expectations, at times when it failed to shine. However, the great problem of this film is precisely the characters. They are detestable, especially the magicians. No one was able to deserve my sympathy and, deep down, I was glad to see both of them being punished for their wickedness. Caine, in his character, mirrored this repulsion very well at certain scenes. And while Tesla's machine allowed a good increment to the story, the way it was done was so far-fetched that it spoiled the movie a bit, too. Anyway, it's a good movie with a very interesting story, fulfilling well its mission to entertain and surprise the public.