The Prestige

Rating: Null/10 (17 March 2007)

The Joe Cool Experience: The Prestige(2006)
Starring: Hugh Jackman as Robert Angier Christian Bale as Alfred Borden Michael Caine as Cutter Scarlett Johansson as Olivia Wenscombe David Bowie as Nikolas Tesla
Plot: Two rival magicians try to one-up each other, especially when it comes to a certain trick called "The Transported Man", which eventually leads to them embarrassing, attacking and trying to murder one another.
Openers: I had been looking forward to this movie for a while. I liked the cast, I liked the director, and the plot sounded very interesting. In an era with remakes and sequels, it's nice to see an original movie step up and show everyone how's it done. And this was original. Did it live up to my expectations?
The Good: The acting is wonderful. I've always been a Christian Bale fan, ever since he went insane in American Psycho. He just seems like one of those actors that gives 100% into everything he does and that makes every performance memorable. This one is no exception. He plays a likable character with a bit of a dark side and does it flawlessly. Hugh Jackman, who I haven't actually seen do too much acting(considering I've seen nothing but X-men and Van Helsing) does well as Bale's rival. It's a good performance when I'm able to say "That's Angier" as opposed to "What's Wolverine doing in this movie?". Both of the main actors put forth an engaging show. Michael Caine is, as always, the glue that holds this thing together. Even though he is in a supporting role he does excellently and helps everything move along. This movie also has many twists and turns, which helps a lot.
The Bad: I did not like the fact that in the end, the movie almost literally holds your hand and explains everything to you. It's like since Nolan felt he was releasing a bigger picture that wasn't a Batman movie, he had to explain it for audiences. I didn't like it at all. Let the audience figure it out for themselves. It takes a bit to explain every little thing and by the time they do and all the twists are revealed, I was left kind of drained. It just took me out of the movie experience.
The Ugly: David Bowie. Who told this man he could act? His presence threw me off.
Final Verdict: The Prestige is right up there in the top films for the year. Great performances and a great story, plus awesome effects. High recommendation from me.
Rating: ****1/2 of *****