fun - but not quite satisfying

Rating: 7/10 (8 November 2006)

An enjoyable movie which will wile away your time pleasantly in the company of some excellent actors, principally Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale - the latter surely one of the most interesting, intense and unpredictable actors working in movies today. They are expertly supported by the one and only Michael Caine, with a couple of delectable cameos from Andy Serkis and David Bowie.
The women's roles, though well-performed, are under-written and fundamentally unengaging. This is a regrettable flaw, but there is a greater one - a trap which the authors were clearly perfectly aware of, but didn't seem to be able to avoid.
The trouble with movies which have Great Revelations in them, as the story of this one goes to great pains to point out with regard to magic tricks, is that there is an inevitable disappointment once you know the answers. Given that the Nolans knew this to be the case, one might have hoped for some chasm of mystery left open. But it's all pretty much rounded off in the manner of an old-fashioned whodunnit. One can almost hear the writers' glee as they tied up another loose end, and then planted the trail that leads to it somewhere unexpected. The last time I felt anything so self-conscious was in The Last of Sheila, many years ago. What stops this from being as brittle as that film is the warmth of Bale, Jackman and Caine. Even so, for some reason the writers' minds somehow tick away audibly in what I'm sorry to say seems to me a too-clever-by-half kind of way.
Whatever my complaints, this is a very fine confection, full of clever tricks, and a pleasant way to fill a couple of hours. My feeling is that the Nolans wanted to achieve something more than that. Unfortunately, they haven't succeeded.