Pretty people in pretty costumes

Rating: 6/10 (23 November 2017)

As sometimes happens in Hollywood, two films with extremely similar plots are released the same year—Capote and In Cold Blood, Florence Foster Jenkins and The Florence Foster Jenkins Story, The Darkest Hour and Churchill—Christopher Nolan's The Prestige came out the same year as Neil Burger's The Illusionist. If you watch the previews to both, you'll find it nearly impossible to tell apart, since they're both about magicians in 1890s England, both starring dark haired men, women with full lips, and an older mentor gentleman. Both plots seem to dance around someone who will stop at nothing in his quest to find out the truth behind the magic tricks. I've seen both films all the way through, and I still have trouble telling them apart.
If you're looking for eye candy to go along with your magician story, The Prestige is the one to rent. Hugh Jackman, in his clean-cut handsomeness, is the star. If you liked him in Kate and Leopold, you'll be very happy to hear he looks almost identical in The Prestige. He and Christian Bale spar off one another, since they both seem to be master illusionists—oh, wait, that's the word from the other film. Anyway, Scarlett Johansson is Hugh's girlfriend and assistant, and Rebecca Hall, David Bowie, Andy Serkis, and Roger Rees join the supporting cast.
Christopher Nolan, creator of the slew of Batman remakes, cast two of his favorite actors in this film after working with them in Batman Begins: Christian Bale and Michael Caine. It's really nice to see the actors and actresses working well off each other, which isn't particularly surprising since most of them worked together in various films before. While some of the twists and turns of the plot are entertaining, as is usual with a Christopher Nolan script, as the end credits roll, audiences are able to find some flaws if they choose to think about it. However, if you like Nolan's films, or magic movies, or like to watch pretty people in pretty costumes, rent this one for an entertaining evening.