Well made but off-puttingly complicated at times, especially towards the end

Rating: 7/10 (6 May 2007)

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning
London, the turn of the Century. Magic is where the money is, turning the crowds out in their droves. And the top magicians of the times are Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale.) They are rivals, but friendly rivals, engaging in a healthy sense of competition with each other. But Borden publicly denounces the tiredness of Angier repeatedly churning out the same crowd-pleasing tricks and demands something new. So they team up to pull off an idea of Borden's together, with tragic results. Angier's wife is killed and, blaming Borden, they become bitter rivals. But when Borden comes up with a new and innovative idea that wows the crowds, Angier becomes obsessed with trying to unwork it. So obsessed, bitterness, betrayal and murder become par for the course.
Director Nolan seems obsessed with becoming Britain's answer to M Night Shyamalan with his high-concept sort of movies. He's doing a better job of it of late, that's for sure, and with the next Batman movie out soon, he's going to get the most commercial drive. But in between he's managed to make The Prestige, which will be unforgettable but not because it's great.
Well, it's quite a good movie, if you can follow it, which I'm not sure many will be able to. This is such a complicated and multi-layered story that you'll be scratching your head more than once while it runs. But that, of course, actually makes it all the more intelligent, and you can't complain about that.
The title, by the way, refers to the final act of the magic act, which Michael Caine's character guides us through in the early stages of the film. As he's stated before, he only acts for the joy of it these days without commanding a hefty fee, but there's nothing wrong with his performance here. He's just the start of the supporting cast, which also includes Andy Serkis and a surprise appearance from musician David Bowie.
A good film, then, but maybe a bit too complicated and off-puttingly so for some viewers. #241 in the IMDb Top 250 is pushing it a bit. ***