I'm under no illusion. This is phenomenal!

Rating: 10/10 (1 July 2012)

Move over you Nolan sisters because we have new Nolan talents in town! Christopher and Johnathan Nolan (the Nolan brothers, as I like to affectionately call them) already crafted a masterpiece from "Memento" with Johnathan coming up with the idea and Chris turning it into a screenplay and fantastic film, and now they've both worked on the screenplay adapted from the book, "The Prestige" once again with Chris in the drivers seat, he does not give a disappointing ride. I've almost seen all of Christopher Nolan's films now, with me giving most of them a 10, which is why I was incredibly excited for "The Prestige" and why my expectations were high. Luckily they were met.
As soon as the film started I knew that I was going to love it. It just had Chris' fingerprints all over it, a great feeling of scale and scope, which he multiplied by ten to give us the exceptional "Inception". We are immediately thrown in to the world of a magician and we immediately care about this world and the characters in it. Like all of Nolan's films, it is incredibly involving and sucks you in, making you wish it would never end! "The Prestige" is pure escapism, and although is much less confusing than "Memento" and "Inception" it certainly is no less intelligent.
Chris has a knack of presenting confusing ideas in an accessible way. "The Prestige" should be a mess with it consistently moving backward and forward in time, but with Nolan it completely works and helps to make it even more thrilling than it already is. The directing is stylish and the sets lavish. There's a wonderful Victorian atmosphere, with beautiful lofty settings, (such as the theatres) it's a real treat for the eyes and with a wonderful scores by Hans Zimmer, it's an equal treat for the ears too.
But it's the story and well-handled themes that keep this film ticking. I wouldn't read into this film too much, just like with "The Cabin in the Woods" all you need to know is that some friends spend the night at a cabin, all you need to know with "The Prestige" is that it's about a bitter rivalry from two magicians. Both of them as malicious as each other, although I did feel more for Hugh Jackman's character (though that might be just because I don't like Christian Bale as much). Both magicians rise to stardom, but once Christian performs an incredible trick (presented in such a genius simplistic and underwhelming way) it leaves Hugh in an obsessive quest to perform it.
The theme of obsession is explored deeply, similarly to "Black Swan" (although of course no where near that great!) and you, the audience, suddenly becomes involved too. The pacing is relentless, just like in any Christopher Nolan film and so the film feels incredibly long, although I don't mean that in a negative way at all, if anything it's positive because it has a truly epic feeling that's hard to wash away after the credits roll up. It's also full of mesmerising twists and turns that actually had me gasping at times! All leading up to a jaw-dropping ending that would be a tragedy if you knew about it before watching it. Of course the most genius thing about the film is that it's written in the same structure as a magic trick!
"The Prestige" is another masterpiece from Christopher Nolan, who's up there with Darren Aronofosky for making consistently amazing films (although I do prefer Darren's incredible visual style). "The Prestige" is thoroughly entertaining and pure escapism. The writing and directing are top notch and deliver a mesmerising film of both quality and quantity. It is absolutely gripping and absorbing, making you try to work out the impossible puzzle with Hugh! Some scenes were heart-pounding and seriously exciting and the climax is powerful as well as holding a good moral. See "The Prestige", the world's greatest film about magic tricks!