The Prestige Is The One About Magic Tricks, Not About Gang Life

Christopher Nolan, 2006

It’s difficult to go wrong with a Christopher Nolan movie that stars Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, and, most importantly, Michael Caine, especially when top hats and waistcoats are involved. I mean, you’re not going to win any Oscars (and, really, who can even guarantee that anymore), but you’re going to have a neat-looking, well-paced, and well-acted bit of intrigue that you will thoroughly enjoy.



Ho hum, I can’t really think about what else to say about The Prestige. It’s pretty cut and dry. There are these two competing magicians who both want to wow the world with the Best Trick Ever, and its gets a little personal at times (people lose body parts, it’s messy). There’s also some diary-swiping and diary-reading that is cleverly layered so that in order to keep track of who’s finding out what about whom and when they’re finding it out, you need to pay close attention to the screen and not to how many delicious nachos you can cram into your mouth at once like I did.

I was lying about cut and dry. This whole first half of the review was written to throw you off the track. This movie actually contains some really weird and science-fictiony elements including but not limited to David Bowie with a moustache. The rest I will leave up to you to discover as I’d rather not spoil the surprise. And after all, curious moviegoer, I wrote this for you. Yes, you!*



Seriously though, the number of times someone apparently gives a secret away only to reveal later that this secret is actually a false secret and the real secret is that the secrets you want are still a secret is a little tiring. And the twist is that you think at several points, “There can’t possibly be another twist.” But there is. Oh there is! I was half expecting to walk out of the theater and be jumped by either Jackman or Bale, who would shout “BUT REALLY I WIN!” in my face before scampering down the hallway, only to be tackled by the other, who has been waiting in the doorway of a neighboring theater. You don’t know who to root for in the film, so it’s kind of irrelevant who wins. I’m not sure I even remember.

Still, altogether enjoyable, if you allow yourself to just open up your mouth and swallow the awkward introduction of “real magic” smoothly and without complaint. If you’re unable to do so, this film will plummet resoundingly during the last quarter and the final scene will do nothing but make you laugh. But The Prestige caught me on a good day,** so I happily ate it up like so many nachos. I won’t blame you if you disagree.


*This is where you sit back, startled, and, depending on whether you’re feeling Christian Bale-ish or Hugh Jackman-ish, you either snicker and shake your head (Bale) or cry like a little girl (Jackman).
**My birthday, to be exact.