The Prestige Review

Rating: 9/10 (13 August 2011)

The Prestige is a brilliant story of revenge, jealousy, and obsession between two 19th century magicians. This movie really works because of the good performances, great direction from Christopher Nolan, and a story that keeps you guessing. Alfred Boden (Christian Bale), and Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman), start off as two magicians aides that are quite good friends. But after a series of unforgivable events, the two becomes enemies constantly trying to one-up each others work. This is when the story becomes a gripping revenge and obsession thriller, with each magician vying to create the perfect illusion. Jackman gives one of the best performances of his career as the emotionally tormented and obsessed Angier, a man who loses everything in order to create the ultimate trick that not even Boden can top. Bale gives a good enough performance, but he does come off as a smug jerk of a character throughout the majority of the film. The good acting as well as the intense direction really keeps you on the edge of your seat, and leaves you just as perplexed and frustrated as the magicians in terms of finding out how these illusions are performed. One thing I was worried about with this movie was that after going through many twists and turns, it wouldn't all tie together in a conceivable way. Once the movie reached its climax, however, the whole thing made complete sense and came together in a very nicely. Overall, this is a great obsession story that really makes you think, and also features good acting and near perfect direction. A definite must-see, especially for Christopher Nolan fans.