Seems like some of the film is missing..because not everything adds up...

Rating: 6/10 (13 March 2007)

In a magic trick it usually consists of a hook, line, and sinker. The magician presents the scenario, proves its impossibility, and then defies the odds. How the trick is pulled off, magicians usually don't reveal. In movie-making however, it doesn't quite work in the same fashion. If you present a film that raises questions and the end of the final act does not answer them, then you have yourself a panned and wildly criticized film. The only kinds of questions that can remain unanswered are that which bare little importance to the main plot itself. Tarantino mastered this, by giving unanswered questions to almost all his films (Best example: Briefcase in Pulp Fiction). The Prestige however, suffers awfully from being unable to answer important questions. While the movie itself is entertaining, albeit a bit long, it fails to wrap up the story the way really good films do, like its rival 2006 magician hit The Illusionist. The hook and line are bearable to watch, but the sinker fails to satisfy. While it did give its nice twists and turns, The Prestige does not leave a satisfying finish.
Rivalries can be very ugly. Take the Yankees-Red Sox, Bears-Packers, Canada-United States, Tupac-B.I.G., and Coke-Pepsi as pure examples. Some can be friendly, some can result in tension, and others result in worse. In the case of The Prestige, we have two magicians ready to kill each other if the opportunity was given. Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) are rival magicians that are so hell-bent on figuring out the other's latest tricks and amazing acts that they will put their families, even their lives on the line. Meanwhile, Cutter (Michael Caine) is in the middle of it all, trying to end the foolish rivalry before it escalates into something more. Throughout the film you see each person gain the upper hand in terms of skills, success, and happiness more than once, but like a seesaw it goes back and forth until the final moments.
Handling this grim and dark tale of competition is an all-star cast, an accomplished director, and David Bowie? Anyways, Christopher Nolan, who has been acclaimed as one of the better current directors out there, directs this film with a technique that mixes the choppy Memento and the dark Batman Begins. Using darker colors, longer shots to portray emotion, and hints and clues throughout, Nolan is certainly the right man to tackle this story because of its non-linear course. He does a much better job here than in Batman Begins in terms of serving a gloomy atmosphere and dim tone. Also involved in the writing, the Nolan brothers did a good job hiding the secrets from the audience, but also stretched the plot a bit too long, when it could have easily been a much shorter film. Perhaps it was because they wanted to foreshadow the ending on multiple instances? Perhaps because providing more content would give the ending a bit more closure? Nonetheless, not everything seen in the first two acts was actually necessary.
At least we have some fine acting to help move the story along. Hugh Jackman removes the claws and does a superb job as a broken, bitter magician whose better days left him after circumstances beyond his control. Michael Caine tops Jackman with his portrayal as the magician not taking sides in the entire case, even when loves are on the line. David Bowie and Scarlett Johansson were good, but a bit underused. Christian Bale on the other hand, didn't provide as much effort here as in previous performances like in Batman Begins, The Machinist, among others.
Pacing of the movie is its ultimate strength and its ultimate weakness. In a non-linear film, moving too fast would be confusing and make the viewer more lost than a blind drunk man in a mirror maze. Once again, citing Pulp Fiction as an example, the modern masterpiece clocks in at over 140 minutes, is slow-paced, and yet remains astoundingly entertaining and fun because it is so rich in content and detail. The Prestige on the other hand doesn't quite dazzle and entertain the way Pulp Fiction, Memento, Fight Club, and other non-linear movies do. With a phenomenal amount of dialogue and little action, the true fun of the film comes within its mysteries, its questions raised.
Yet exactly like what would happen if the television show Lost abruptly ended, The Prestige does not answer all the questions, even when the credits roll. As the film progresses and the plot becomes thicker and the tensions and stakes raises, a lot of details raise questions about the who, the where, the why, and especially the how. Nolan was good at teasing the audience and leaving the bait, but failed to go for the kill when he really should've. He did not wrap up the story in a nice bow, or in a fashion that would leave the average viewer fulfilled. The Illusionist followed a similar pattern of leaving clues to the grand finale, except the ending answered all that needed to be answer. With questions that could result in several different answers, each of them potentially changing major themes in the movie itself, answers were more than necessary here and it was not delivered.
Bottom Line: The Prestige is a dark, twisting movie that doesn't seem to find its course, and while it keeps the audience in check, it leads to an abrupt dead end with many questions hanging around. The direction was great, the casting was wonderful, and the cinematography was outstanding, but something in the writing was lacking--seemed to be missing. Then, to make things a bit more disappointing comes the final act, which may leave some viewers pleased, but may leave others scratching their heads. If you want all answers revealed, you are in for a major disillusionment.