The Prestige

Buy This Item The Prestige by Buena Vista Home Entertainment / Touchstone  Available from Amazon  $14.99  on 11-14-2008     Award-winning actors Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine and Scarlett Johansson star in THE PRESTIGE, the twisting, turning story that, like all great magic tricks, stays with you. Two young, passionate magicians, Robert Angier (Jackman), a charismatic showman, and Alfred Borden (Bale), a gifted illusionist, are friends and partners until one fateful night when their biggest trick goes terribly wrong. Now the bitterest of enemies, they will stop at nothing to learn each other's secrets. As their rivalry escalates into a total obsession full of deceit and sabotage, they risk everything to become the greatest magician of all time. But nothing is as it seems, so watch closely. And be prepared to watch it again and again. Reader Reviews After hearing the praise from critics and the public alike, I decided to give the movie a try. After telling my father all the great thing I'd heard about the movie, and its considerably high position on IMDB, he decided to watch it with me. Well, he made it about 30 minutes through the movie, and left. I made it about an hour, maybe an hour and a half through the movie till I was too frustrated and confused to keep going. Story: I was so confused by the convoluted, confusing plot, I had to go to a myriad of sites with a full movie synopsis, to figure out what the heck was even going on. And even then, I was still out in the dark. So even though Christopher Nolan has never been one to make a simple plot, this one is way over the top. But wait, that's not all. This movie moves at a slower pace than most days watching C-Span. I mean good gosh, while this movie is at least a good two hours, it feels like you're watching a Peter Jackson movie. And the worst part is, you don't feel as if you spent your time wisely. Performances: Although the actors were good at portraying it, there was really only one emotion in the movie, anger. Not that hard to do. However, I was very surprised at the appearance of David Bowie as the character of Tesla, who I didn't even know existed till this movie. Mood: Very dark; Victorian London was never one for bubbling joy, but really, this is downright depressing. But, that's what this movie is going for, it's not supposed to be easy to swallow, or even fun, it's supposed to teach you a lesson, which I will get to in Morals. But, on terms of mood, the movie achieves what it's going after, and the amazing visual effects only compliment it even further. And again, Nolan knows how to create the mood he wants. Morals: Basically, the movie is about topping one another, and rivalries. And this is a rather bitter one, from crushing of birds, to wives dying, to trying to kill the other. By the end of the movie, you don't really care if any of them go, because they're acting worse than children. In fact, at times they're rather hateful, rageful, and use rather disturbing and strange ways to take their revenge. And of course, by the end, nobody wins. Overall: A very strange, confusing, slow, depressing movie, that really doesn't bring anything new to the table. Sure Christopher Nolan is good, at creating the mood of the movie, but it's not really a great mood. In fact, the number one mistake you can make in a story is you don't care for any of the characters. This movie only gives you more reasons to not like them. So if you like movies that only a critic could love, or you understand complicated story lines, or just like strange moral lessons, then this is the movie for you. For me at least, three words: Over The Top.

The Prestige Available from Amazon Price: $14.99 Updated on 11-14-2008.

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