The Prestige - Review

Comment on “The Prestige”

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1. Gunblazer Says:
   October 21st, 2006 at 09:50

   Damn Josh I already wanted to see this now you've got me drooling

1. Amber Says:
   October 22nd, 2006 at 16:49

   This is my new favorite movie! Well-thought out! Well-done! Well-edited! I think EVERYONE should see this movie! Very thought-provoking! All the actors did a great job in convincing the audience!
   
   <3 Amber Marie

1. jake Says:
   October 24th, 2006 at 01:01

   "This is Memento era Nolan back from the grave. This isn't the director of big Hollywood films like Batman Begins and Insomnia."
   
   Geez, I wouldn't describe either of those as "Big Hollywood films". Batman was well-received critically because of its lack of flamboyance and I don't think it was hugely budgeted. Same with Insomnia ... the only thing 'big' or 'Hollywood' about that film were three of the cast ... playing against type, like The Prestige.
   
   I don't think Nolan has been in a 'grave' since Memento, he's been churning out a consistent level of high quality stuff all along.

1. Josh Says:
   October 24th, 2006 at 01:06

   Jake, you may not have thought Batman Begins and Insomnia looked like big Hollywood movies, but they had the big budgets and big stars to prove it.
   
   Come on, it's Batman.
   
   Hey, they're nice movies. Nothing wrong with either of them, The Prestige is simply on an entirely different level. It takes the kind of risks Nolan took with Memento and they pay off.

1. Moxon Says:
   October 24th, 2006 at 13:20

   I have to say that I am fairly surprised with your review of this film Josh. While I did enjoy the story, the acting of Jackman and Bale (two of the best male actors of late) and the rack that is Scarlett Johansson;I felt like the film was way too predictable to be amazing. I have to disagree with a review that states this is one of the greatest movies of the year when its so painfully obvious what is going on and what is about to happen. I would still recommend this movie to people because I feel that it does have great presence but I have to admit to feeling let down when I left the theatre. Do you not agree that this was a predictable flick?

1. spindaddydad Says:
   October 24th, 2006 at 16:19

   Ok moxon,
   
   You did not know what was going to happen. And, it can be called anything, but it can't be called predictable.

1. Chris Says:
   October 26th, 2006 at 17:31

   This was a pretty good flick. My wife and I figured the twist out before the halfway mark, but it still held our interest the rest of the way through. Good stuff.

1. Michelle Says:
   November 4th, 2006 at 07:20

   Hi. I totally agree with Josh Tyler's review. I saw this movie the other night and it was great. It was frustrating at first because it took a minute to figure out in each scene if they were showing the past, present, or future. As the movie continued on, it made more and more sense. I like that this movie makes you think and that you have to really pay attention to what's happening in it. This is a great movie to talk about with your fellow movie-goers because there are so many connections to make and details to pay attention to. With some movies though, you see the movie and that's it -- there's nothing to say. Even knowing how it ends, I will definitely see this movie again sometime.

1. Chris Says:
   November 14th, 2006 at 11:45

   saw the film last night, and iv got to say guys and girls i was deeply disappointed by it, especially the longer it went on. like people have said, the plot of the feud is enjoyable, if not a little icthy and scratchy in the way it goes tediously back and forth. But by the end it just delved into the ridiculous. there are three main areas which anger me.
   
   1) It was just a pants ending. to throw the supernatural in without warning was stupid.
   2) It was obviously throughout the film that Bale had a twin, too obvious for it to be considered a twist at the end.
   3) S. J. has a rubbish role, her character has little to do and is wasted, with no major influence.
   
   Oh and one last thing....that bloody ending monologue!! shot in the heart but still talking for five bloody minutes whilst he desperately tried to make an oscar winning speech before dying in a comedic way
   
   im not best pleased!! i just dont like a film that feels it has to explain every minor detail at the end....surely its better to work things out for our self, to leave a few question marks, to have to play detective. to wrap it all up for the sake of a few simpletons in my opinion is disrespectful to the majority of the viewers

1. Liam Says:
   November 23rd, 2006 at 12:18

   How can you say that it was predictable and that everything was explained when nobody really knows what Nolan meant with this film. There seem to be a ton of hidden paths and variations. Look here for some interesting takes on what really happened:
   
   http://www.cinemarati.org/index.php/archives/the-prestige-the-spoilers-post/

1. Drew Says:
   January 12th, 2007 at 00:49

   I really was not a big fan of the movie. I saw it as some sort of glorified and much more boring version of an Oceans Eleven type film. The last five to ten minutes ot the film were alright, but I thought the two hours before it were dreadful. Oceans Eleven at least was a fun movie with very comical scenes and I think a much better plot. Yes this movie had great actors and it was very unpredictable and thought provoking, but overall I felt like the ending did not make viewing the movie worth while and I wanted my money and the time I spent watching the movie back.

1. Taisuke Says:
   February 5th, 2007 at 10:41

   Chris, I think you're missing an important point of the film.
   
   Christopher Nolan's trick is to make the simple ones look complicated and the complicated ones look simple. He is the magician, the movie is his trick, and we are the audience. The trick may have been predictable to some people, but then again most magic tricks are. If you're good enough, you can sit in the audience and point out every trick in an illusion, but that isn't fun, that isn't the point of magic, the audience goes to the shows to be fooled, not so they can predict the secret and prove that they're smarter than everyone else. (unless you're just shallow like that)
   
   To quote Michael Caine's ending monologue:
   "Now you're looking for the secret, but you won't find it, because of course, you're not really looking, you dont really want to work it out, you want to be... fooled."
   
   This is exactly what makes the film so powerful and intimate; it captures the very essence of magic. You know the truth, the world is simple, miserable, and solid all the way through, but Christopher Nolan creates a piece so masterful, artful, and surreal yet well thought-out, that he suspends that belief, even if only for a second. That's the beauty of this movie, and I believe only Nolan could have done it so well. If you arn't open-minded enough to appreciate what he has achieved, you shouldn't be here criticizing it, because you make yourself look provincial to those who are.
   
   This is a very good movie and i recommend it to everyone.
   
   btw chris, he was shot in the gut.

1. Tess Says:
   February 24th, 2007 at 18:15

   After watching the movie a second time......it was still great!! My question is....what did Bale say just before being hanged and when the Professor said he built the transporter only once before....did he build it for Bale and thats where his twin came from??

1. Amber Says:
   March 11th, 2007 at 21:55

   I really enjoyed the movie and I'm pretty sure that I understood everything expect for the very ending when you saw Robert Angier's body in the tank.
   
   What was that about?

1. wayne Says:
   March 24th, 2007 at 19:21

   he said abracadabra as he was about to be hung.i dont think anyone really understands what happened,did bales twin come from the transporter?was jackman already dead?there arnt any answers,a bit like donny darko.

1. Sujay Ghuge Says:
   March 28th, 2007 at 16:22

   The Prestige- A Truly Outstanding Movie
   Christopher Nolan strikes back!!!! He is one stylish Hollywood director who knows how to make you believe the unbelievable. What makes this movie so incredible is that while it is indeed a movie about magicians it is also a complex character study about how self-destructive an obsession can be. Integrating this plot with a love story and a sci-fi twist truly makes this a masterpeice. The Prestige comes with a unique plot with a fabulous drama and an amazing star cast - mainly two powerful, riveting stars in Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman any of whom could believably garner an Oscar nomination. Pitting these two seasoned performers against each other was a stroke of a casting genius- it feels like a perfect fit for director Nolan's sensibilities. The director has very well recreated a period of show business history- an era during which competition between magicians was serious and intense. The script written by director Christopher Nolan based on a novel by Christopher Priest is itself a juggling act, bouncing back and forth in time, teasing us with a whole extra layer of suspense. It keeps you interested and keeps you guessing right to the shocking but most appropriate end. A real entertainer and a truly outstanding movie, The Prestige is well worth seeing on a big screen for its grand scope and vision.
   
   

1. Ba donka donk Says:
   April 12th, 2007 at 16:03

   he said abracadabra at the end, bale had a twin from the beginning. he showed that jackman was a fool at the end cuz he spent all his cash and a long ass trip just to figure it out but ended up doin it the easy evil way by makin clones and killin then off while bale just used hard work and a twin

1. kabaragoya Says:
   May 10th, 2007 at 12:39

   Amber,
   
   In the last part of the film, we saw Angier's body in the tank. Remember there were a two rows of tanks as well. In Angier's trick, the machine creates an exact copy of him in another location and he gets rid of the original by drowning himself. So each time he performs his trick, he drowns himself. That was the part ot the film that I went to bed thinking about yesterday after I watched the it. This was an excellent story told in an excellent way. I cant think of a better way. The whole story unfolds in the end. Many thigs fall into place after you leave the theater. This movie is one of myfew most favourite movies. It came just when I was thinking that western movies cant entertain me as they used to.

1. Joe Tate Says:
   May 27th, 2007 at 00:25

   Painfully obvious- those are the two words I would use to describe the big twist here. I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer and I called it about, oh, five minutes into the movie. That said, it was still entertaining.

1. Joseph Kay Says:
   July 27th, 2007 at 21:23

   Several things need to be said here.
   
   Spindaddydad said: "Ok moxon, You did not know what was going to happen".
   
   What are you, an idiot? How could you possibly claim to know this? I knew what was going to happen and several other people have said the same.
   
   Taisuke, I won't bother quoting all that you said. Suffice it to say that Chris made some very valid points and all that you have shown by accusing him of being close-minded is that you are an idiot. Furthermore, one cannot choose to be deceived. If the film makes something obvious then there's little you can do about it.
   
   
   It was an okay film, but it did leave you feeling like it could have been so much more.
   
   A good review: http://www.futuremovies.co.uk/review.asp?ID=622

1. Ernie Chessman Says:
   August 17th, 2007 at 16:45

   I have just one question: for the stage performance that begins and ends the movie, for which Bale is tried for murder, how does the Angier "prestige" know NOT to appear in the balcony? Surely he is there in waiting, and should have stepped forward (since only Cutter and Bale knew the jig was up in trying to "save Angier" in the tank). He obviously doesn't appear, for had he, there would have been no murder trial....

1. Katie Says:
   July 4th, 2008 at 17:39

   Angier said he was only going to perform 100 times in that theatre, and I'm guessing on the 100th time his clone was to assume the role of Count.

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