Scarlett Johannson, Michael Caine, and yes, David Bowie.what more could you want?

Rating: 10/10 (11 July 2007)

Scarlett Johannson, Michael Caine, and yes, David Bowie.what more could you want? 'The Prestige' is suspenseful, with a great cameo by a surprise actor, and sub-plots that make you watch the movie five times before putting it all together. Yes, what is better than David Bowie himself being the genius scientist? Well as good as Bowie may be, incredibly enough, a lot in this movie surpasses even him.
Magicians Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) are co-workers in their young careers working for manager Cuter (Michael Caine). The two end up being enemies after a piece of magic turns fatal. Angier and Borden then battle to become Britain's best magician while constantly trumping each other. The film shows that the human drive to be the best is enough to drive man to obsession, but only after throwing everything important away.
'The Prestige' comes from simple terminology used by magicians. As Cutter explains early in the film, there are three parts to a magic trick. The third is the prestige, which is making the object re-appear. The curiosity of the prestige of the great 'Transported Man' trick is what carries the viewers' attention throughout the film, and eventually it awes all in the conclusion.
This film is a wonderful science fiction mystery that can make anyone believe that all events in this film are or were humanly possible. The setting is the turn of the twentieth century in Great Britain. Dark colored clothes and low-key dark lighting are used to set the tone of the film. Many shots are taken under stage, in dark dressing rooms, in bedrooms at night, in prison cells, in cemeteries, in secluded forests, and in dark allies. All the foreshadowing of darkness that dawns upon all the main characters involved, from the headlining magicians down to the scientist secluded on a mountainside.
The dark colors and close facial shots are very reminiscent of Ron Howard's 'A Beautiful Mind'. Both flicks have a wonderful ability to hold movie-goers' attention and make them debate the possible outcomes up until the end of the film and even after viewing.
The magicians show that the human drive to be the best is enough to drive them to obsession, but only after throwing everything important away. See for yourself what the consequences are of these decisions.