Starring Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Scarlett Johansson, David Bowie, Michael Caine, Andy Serkis
Written By: Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan
Directed By: Christopher Nolan
Studio: Disney/ Buena Vista
Buy on Amazon.com link

Ahh, the other magician movie. The Illusionist and the Prestige were released roughly around the same time, and i’m wondering if it was deliberate or not. Whether or not its a coincidence or not, both movies are well made and also really good! The Prestige is more of the evil side of the magic world, and the Illusionist is using magic for good.

The Prestige takes place at the turn of the century London (and America) and is about two rival magicians going after each other’s trade secrets. The two magicians, Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale), were once friends & associates until one day; a magic trick went horribly wrong. Then after that, each magician begins a dangerous competition to out-shine each other on the stage. They try to steal each other’s act, and try to get the secrets from one another. Angier goes as far as getting his own assistant, Olivia (Scarlett Johansson), to go over to Borden’s side to get the secrets that way. That method backfires because his assistant ends up falling in love with Alfred. Angier gets really obsessed to prove he’s a better magician than Borden, and enlist the help of a mysterious, eccentric inventor. With a new machine, Angier goes back to London with proving he’s the greatest magician of all time and getting revenge on Borden. But make sure you are watching closely, because nothing is as it seems.

I was actually looking forward to seeing this on DVD because I never got a chance to see this in the theaters. I really wanted to, just couldn’t. I actually was looking forward this movie than The Illusionist because Christopher Nolan has had an almost flawless record (I disliked Insomnia) with his movies. Plus the Prestige has an all-star cast, and the film just looked really neat. This film was a lot darker than I imagined it would be, but it doesn’t disappoint at all! Not only does the film meet my expectations, it made me want to watch it again. I know that’s what everyone will say but it’s true. You have to go back and try to pick up on things and see how things were done. I felt the same way for the other magician movie. There were a lot of hints that were dropped throughout the movie, but you’re not entirely sure what the big twist or twists are til the very end.

I felt the story was really interesting because it shows you how much involvement goes into securing secrets of being a magician. It also shows you how far someone is willing to go to become the best. Sometimes you have to sacrifice something or someone dear to you, in order to become the best or to keep that secret. That’s mainly what this movie was about and I liked that a lot. The film went at a slow pace but it still kept you intrigued throughout the whole thing. I thought it was great to add a little bit of science and sci-fi to the movie as well. It stands out from the other magic films. Besides seeing the two try to sabotage each other performances, seeing Tesla on screen was really cool and fun to watch. David Bowie should do more acting because he was great as the inventor. Of course Jackman and Bale were also great and pretty much the reason why I wanted to see this in the first place. They are quickly becoming my two favorite actors, and having Scarlet Johannson in the film was a nice added bonus as well. She’s just lovely and has a tremendous body. Fellas, she has a lot of sexy outfits and bustiers on in the film so if that’s not one reason to see this film, I don’t know what is.

The extras only last for about 20 minutes but they do cover a lot within that time frame. They talk about the story, the filmmaking, camera tricks, and other things associated with the movie. There’s some interviews with the cast well, and we do find out from Nolan that it did take awhile to get David Bowie on board. But according to the director, he was the first and only choice for Nikola Tesla. The other featurette was an art gallery featuring production stills and costume design.

The Prestige is a great film that makes you want to see again. The film has excellent acting, an interesting story, it was shot really well and it’s just an entertaining flick. Be sure to get this DVD when it comes out!

Features:
– Backstage – The Director’s Notebook: The Cinematic Sleight Of Hand Of Christopher Nolan
– Conjuring The Past
– The Visual Maze
– Metaphors Of Deception
– Tesla: The Man Who I’vented The Twentieth Century
– Resonances

– The Art Of The Prestige Gallery

Audio:
ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1 CC
SPANISH: Dolby Digital Stereo
FRENCH: Dolby Digital Stereo

Video:
Widescreen 2.35:1 Color (Anamorphic)

Subtitles:
Spanish, French

Favorite Scenes: The sabotaging between the magicians was fun. I also liked scenes with Tesla, and the ending was weird and creepy. Oh yeah, scenes with Scarlet in them!
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 130 minutes
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating: