The Prestige (2006)

Christian Bale is an amazing actor, and he just barely bales out The Prestige, but parts of this movie are as unfortunate as that line. This is the story of two magicians who began their careers together and end up becoming dangerous rivals as their lives progress. This movie was not all that great, although it does have its moments. I think the best way to talk about The Prestige is to compare it to The Illusionist, the other magician movie that premiered at about the same time. Unfortunately for The Prestige, it does not compare the latter. The cast of this movie is quite deep, with Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Hugh Jackman, Scar Jo and even David Bowie, amongst others. Despite that, Edward Norton's The Illusionist is far superior. The Prestige focuses a lot on which magician can more impressively do the same trick, and it creates a rivalry that leads to the deaths of multiple people. I really like Christian Bale, who is terrific, but Hugh Jackman is hard to take seriously in this role. The movie spends too much time worrying about how tricks are done instead of showcasing really cool illusions. I will say one thing for this movie though, the last half hour (which should have come half an hour earlier) is very intriguing. There are several twists that add a lot of flare to a slow movie. Some of it involves a little more suspension of disbelief than I am usually willing to give, but the end made this movie worth watching. All of the misdirection gets a little confusing and mottled; I am still not sure that I completely understand who was in on what, but I liked it. One other thing that I disliked about this movie is that it references two historical figures. The first, Nikola Tesla, who is actually a character in the movie, is painted almost as a crazy wizard. The second, Thomas Edison, who is not actually in the movie, is portrayed as a jealous thug. I don't believe that either of these characterizations are accurate, nor do I think that using actual historic names does anything positive for the film. Overall, this movie was not great, although the ending was worth watching. If I had to see one movie about magicians, it would not be this one, it would be The Illusionist. My wife did not want to watch this movie, and I cannot really blame her.I give The Prestige 2 stars.