The Prestige
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Movie Reviews of The Prestige
Movie Review: A book and a movie.
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm writing two reviews at once, since I watched the movie and read the book. I think it's fair to compare and contrast the two.
They are both valuable and highly entertaining. The movie has the benefit of adventure. This is a murder mystery, flying toward an ultimate conclusion where Alfred Borden is going to be hanged for the murder of Robbie Angier, his rival. Even though Borden and the viewer know that he didn't do it, the success of the movie is the intricacies of the adventure that brought them to this challenging and ultimate conclusion.
They've lived lives of obsession, and this comes through well in the movie. We see wives, lovers, friends, and coworkers distancing themselves from the protagonists as they become consumed by their magic, their careers and their rivalry. That rivalry, coincidentally, started with a murder, albeit accidental and rushed to a murder of climax. Like the book, the core of the story is the prestige - or the effect of the tricks that define their lives. For Borden it's his Transported Man and for Angier, it's the apparent theft of that trick for the Improved Transported Man. Although the tricks are similar in effect, they're execution is macabrely different, devastating both men with the price the illusion takes from their lives and from their soul.
Where the book's strength is in character building, the movie is shorted in this regard, in favor of pacing and the rush to reveal the trick, I would have preferred a slower pace and more of the benefit of these amazingly obsessive and not very likable protagonists. The book also uses some true magic realism in its effect because it takes the time to explain it. The movie shorts the viewer in this manner by rushing the ending too soon.
All that said, I prefer the movie to the book. Enjoy both of them, however, they won't let you down.
- CV Rick
Movie Review: "The secret impresses no one. The trick you use it for is everything"
Summary: 5 Stars
"The Prestige", based on a novel by Christopher Priest, is a movie that surprised me. I had heard that some people liked it, and that some people hated it, but I didn't expect "The Prestige" to be the kind of film that makes you want to watch it again immediately, just to be certain you didn't miss anything. And that is exactly what happened in this case...
This film, directed by Christopher Nolan, is a drama set in late 19th century London that has some ingredients that can only be described as fantasy. All the same, the spectator won't be able to shake off the feeling that what he is watching is real, due to the excellent way in which the actors, the director and the scriptwriters managed to bring Priest's novel to life.
The title of this movie has to do with one of the three acts of which every outstanding magic trick consists. The first act is "The Pledge", when the magician shows you something seemingly ordinary. The second act is "The Turn", when the thing that seemed ordinary is turned into something extraordinary. The last act is "The Prestige", the act that crowns the magic trick and makes it unique. Magicians live and die for "The Prestige", and that act is somehow at the center of this story.
The main characters in this film are two magicians, Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) and Rupert Angier (Hugh Jackman), that due to a tragedy go from friendly rivals to fierce enemies. The quest of each one of them is to best the other, no matter the cost, notwithstanding the means. Who is the best magician, who can really achieve "The Prestige"? And will he live to boast about it?
On the whole, I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed watching this movie, and that I would gladly watch it a third time. Highly recommended...
Belen Alcat
Movie Review: A Movie Worth Watching Closely
Summary: 5 Stars
100 years ago, there were two fledgling magicians. Both Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) are the plants in an audience who help a magician with his final act. But one night things turn deadly, leaving Robert a widower and breaking apart the two men.
Over the years, they keep tabs on each other and try to hurt each other. That's how Robert knows when Alfred premiers his most phenomenal trick, the transported man. In this trick, Alfred moves from one box to another across the stage in one second flat. Robert becomes obsessed with learning how his rival does the trick, an obsession he takes to unhealthy levels. Who is the ultimate magician? Will Robert learn the secret of the transported man? What lengths will he go to attempting to get the secret?
Frankly, that summary does the movie an injustice. It is more a character study of the two men than anything else. The story unfolds through a series of flashbacks, yet once I got the characters established in my mind, it was very easy to follow.
This isn't my normal light film. In fact, it is very dark at times. But the story is so engrossing. I was lost in the world unsure who to root for to win. In fact, I gave up trying to predict the outcome, and it's a good thing I did because I never would have guessed how it ended.
The acting from every single member of the cast is great. I can't single anyone out, that's how good it is.
And this is definitely a movie to own. There are so many scenes that appear to mean one thing but really mean something else that you need to watch it again.
I am sorry I am just now watching this excellent film. If you've missed it, go out and see it today. I can't recommend this film highly enough.
Movie Review: Excellent film based off a superior book
Summary: 5 Stars
First off, to all who enjoyed Christopher Nolan's "The Prestige", do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Christopher Priest's novel by the same name. That book served as the basis for this film.
This is truly one of my favorite films. Bale is terrific as always as Alfred Borden, and Jackman delivers what I consider to be his finest performance as the obsessive, vindictive Robert Angier. Michael Caine's supporting role as Angier's ingenieur of allusions is a charming and vital, as the opening and closing narration are provided by his character. The lovely Scarlett Johansson also delivers one of the finest performances of her young career.
I won't summarize the plot of the film, as that's already been done thoroughly by past reviewers, but I will comment on the differences between the book and the film.
As you might imagine, the film is much different. The book begins with a journalist venturing to the home of a descendent of Angier for an interview. The majority of the book and most of the content of the film comes from the personal diary of Angier and retellings by Angier's descendent. In the book, the rivalry between Borden and Angier begins not with the accidental death of Angier's wife, but with Borden sabotaging a seance of Angier's at a private residence. The book goes into great and fascinating detail about the pasts of the two main characters, which was, in my opinion, a major omission from the film.
I want to go into greater detail about the differences, but I'm afraid I'd spoil a great read for whomever takes my advice and reads the book. Overall, the film is terrific. If you were fascinated by the film, I highly recommend that you delve into the book, which provides much greater insight into the characters.
Movie Review: All the Pretty Birdies
Summary: 5 Stars
Rivalry comes in all shapes and forms, and even more so in the world of magic. Enter Hugh Jackman, C. Bale, and n accident that sends them both on a quest to ecome the best at what they do. Along the way the stakes become higher and higher, the intrigue becomes more and more involved, and the cost of a good trick - let's just say it isn't reflected in the price of admission.
When The Prestige and the illusionist both came out around the same tiem, I was somewhat afraid of what that meant. I had seen the second and didn't know what that meant, but then I saw the first and was truly blown away. Aside from an superb storyline that grapples you down odd corridors of the mind, through places that don't seen quite inviting, and into the lives of two men competing, you also have intrigue that is truly compelling and acting that is first class.
When I saw that Jackman and Bale were the two main characters slotted for the film, I was excited about the prospects. I had high hopes for the movie, really high ones, and I didn't feel let down by the main characters or the supporting cast. Then there were the "tricks" themselves; some of them were normal things you would expect to see, bt some of them were things that really kept the mind pacing. I liked the fact that Blae's character pointed out, telling you that the greatest trick a magician could pull would be living their illusion.
How truthful and prophetic those words become.
And then there is the finale - the final truth - I really found that to be amazing. The lengths the movie went to in keeping me going; there were details within details that made me not only want to watch but to keep my breath baited, wondering.
This is a really god watch - you will not be disappointed by it.