Predictable and tedious

Rating: 2/10 (22 October 2006)

SERIOUS SPOILERS and RANTS!!!! (For The Prestige AND The Illusionist) I just don't understand it--I've read the reviews of this movie here on Amazon and only one other person seems to also feel that the movie was ridiculously predictable early on. The clues were in your face, and then repeated/flaunted/displayed over and over, ad nauseum. Then, to add insult to injury on top of the old hackneyed "twin theme," some pseudoscience is thrown in to boot (clones created "Highlander" style--absurd bolts of electricity and all--Star Trek did cloning better in the 60's with Kirk on the whirly machine thing for God's sake). So Jackman's character kills himself/his clones over and over during every show waiting for the one time when Bale's character goes backstage, consequently pinning Jackman's murder on him. At the end they "divulge" the big secret that Bale has a twin (DUH?), and then the last scene shows Jackman floating in a tank and we're all supposed to go--wha? I mean wasn't it obvious that Jackman was killing himself over and over? (Or were all those hats and cats just extraneous props to throw us off?) And the Lord is...who?...is it really Hugh Jackman? Geez I didn't see that one coming...only A MILE AWAY. People keep comparing this movie to The Illusionist, but I thought the ending of The Illusionist was equally insulting--I mean, Paul Giamatti had to recount all the steps leading to the "secret" of the movie, when it was really obvious early on what had happened. I can only see Ed Norton, who was fantastic in Down in the Valley (as a dubious/not b&w character that kept you thinking) in the edit room arguing, "What? Why do we have to spoon feed the audience?" (Wasn't this "recap" device used already in Usual Suspects anyway?--only in Usual Suspects it was effective and necessary--at the end of the movie you really do go "ah ha! I didn't see that coming! Simply brilliant.") Christian Bale was incredible in The Machinist and American Psycho (even Batman was interesting). He has the charisma of a rock in The Prestige. Michael Caine is...basically Michael Caine. Hugh Jackman--he IS Wolverine. In this movie he falls flat. I don't feel his anger. I should want Bale's character incinerated for what he did, though maybe inadvertently, to Jackman's wife. But I don't feel anything. I've been a fan of Scarlett since Ghost World. No extraordinary acting here though. David Bowie, however, (whether he looks like the real Tesla or not) was very engaging. I wanted to see more of him. Oh well. I give it two stars just because I love the actors, though not in this particular movie.