How do you make a serious movie about magick? Trick question. You don't.

Rating: Null/10 (28 January 2011)

For me, if the story is good, or at least believable, the script decent and the actors/actresses know their trade, then all that is required from the director - of not *ucking it up - is to just follow the script.
Everything else is more or less masturbation with the aesthetics. Granted, if the form is fitting, we'll probably like it even better. Still, if you manage those three things, it should work even without a music or a set to speak of (à la "Dogville").
While Nolan's story in interesting, it fails to be believable in the end.
Nolan loves movies with a twist. And honestly, who doesn't? The problem is, such movies really only work once.
I can't help but feel that movies like "The Prestige", "The Sixth Sense", and so on, are little more than a waste of perfectly good celluloid...
In retrospect (at the very least), one always has to shake her head in disbelief. To insist that Bruce Willis - or anyone else for that matter - could go on living a day without realizing that he is actually dead, is an insult to our intellect. You wouldn't need to plss or shlt anymore? Go shopping for food? You wouldn't notice people walking right through you on the streets?
There are some exceptions. "The Blair Witch Project" was kinda fun to watch again because it has that real-life documentary feel to it. The trio's reactions/emotions ring so true. The scene where one of them confesses that he ditched the map in frustration, is timeless.
But back to Nolan.
I liked the mood he created in "Insomnia", even if that may have had more to do with solid performances given by Williams and Pacino - and the midnight Sun.
My memories about "Memento" have grown vague, but I do remember enjoying it all those years ago. Don't know how I would feel about it today, though.
But you'd figure if a movie is any good, you'd remember it, right?
Still, "Memento" is the only Nolan movie I've cared to watch again. "Batman Begins" had absolutely nothing to remember it by. But it probably looked really cool. I don't think any director would be pleased hearing comments like these.
Even though I haven't seen "Inception" or "The Dark Knight", I fear neither of them will make me really appreciate Nolan as a director who has something worthwhile to say. And if South Park's "Insheeption" is anything to go by, it's safe to assume that his notion of great cinema probably differs from mine on some crucial level.
"The Prestige", of course, had it's moments, but for me it failed for a couple of reasons. First, I couldn't really bring myself to care much about any of the main characters. I fear Bale is more or less Keanu Reeves 2.0 and Scarlett Johansson is just a poor man's Kate Winslet.
There, I said it.
Worse than that, when a walk-on (Bowie, whom I did not recognize) is far more interesting than anything else in the movie, you know someone blew it royally.
And second, to wrap it up with something as inane as cloning is just bad writing. So, instead of leaving us with a lingering feeling of mystery, we're simply ordered to eat up this poor excuse for a science fiction and asked to feel satisfied about it nonetheless.
I think "The Prestige" wants itself taken far too seriously. All in all it's a good fun ride, just not all the way. A ride I don't feel like repeating.
PS. For the record, and since _everyone_ compares these two, I cared immensely more about the characters in "The Illusionist", and the ending was much more satisfying, too: you could either reason it, or you could just believe there's some magic after all... Nothing else to it for a mission accomplished.
PS2. And Nolan, if you really want to tell us a story about Tesla, feel free to do so. We have your interest, and we have an actor for the part as well.