The Prestige [Blu-ray]

The best performance from David Bowie since the Labyrinth! RIP........, Lolz nah 🤣 NOTHING BEATS BOWIE IN LABYRINTH, Christian Bale AND Hugh Jackman are power houses in this one and it hits the first time that you came back for the second 3rd and soon on because the story is impeccable 👌 grade AAA 👍 worth the money to buy/rent! Did you think I would spoil the story? Lolz

Foreword: this review will NOT reveal anything about the plot in this film and will only serve to objectively review the quality of the film and not serve as a repeat of the description of this movie. This is an actual review, not a synopsis.The Prestige is yet another brilliant masterpiece directed by Christopher Nolan. Do not be put off by the fact that it's a magician movie. This is high caliber entertainment with mega stars like Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, and Scarlett Johansson.DIRECTION/PACEThis is definitely a Nolan film. The direction and pace of the movie is best in the business. There is never a point in the movie where it lulls or feels dull. Each scene follows in a way that is logical and perfectly serves to deliver the action and plot progression.CINEMATOGRAPHYThe cinematography in "The Prestige" is extraordinarily good. Every shot serves as a perfect frame for capturing the emotions of the actors and their interactions with one another. Often times I forgot that I wasn't actually in the room with the magicians, experiencing the wonders for myself.ACTINGThe onscreen chemistry between the characters makes every interaction feel real. Christian Bale fits his character extraordinarily well - a very determined magician willing to sacrifice aspects of his life to stake his claim in the world of magic. Hugh Jackman assumes the antagonistic, competitive magician which he pulls off well. The tension and rivalry between these two character come across as genuine as can be. Michael Caine, per usual, acts as the "helper" character who assists one of the main characters in whatever goal they are trying to achieve (see: Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy). Scarlett Johansson in my opinion is less memorable than the aforementioned characters, but her performance is as expected. David Bowie's quirky role was just brilliant. He was cast nearly perfectly for the role he plays.WRITINGThis is the true magic of the movie. The story telling in "The Prestige" is far and above any magician movie that you have ever watched. The various plot devices used are never arbitrary or uninteresting. There is a continual presence of intrigue and anticipation for the unveiling of magic tricks that are seemingly impossible to conceive how they work. The foreshadowing and dichotomy built between the two main characters played by Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale is nothing short of greatness.EDITINGScene transitions flow naturally and any elements of CGI in the movie that may or may not exist are simply untraceable. As a "triple A" movie title, I expect nothing less in "The Prestige"!COSTUME DESIGNAll costumes in "The Prestige" look period correct and appropriate for a film that takes place in the 19th century. The beauty of the costume design in "The Prestige" is that everything feels so natural. The dress in the film is more like outfits than costumes, they seem that real.SET DESIGNAll the same sentiments in the costume section apply here as well.MUSICAL SCORE/SOUNDTRACKMusic in the movie always lends to set the mood of each scene. Often times its ominous or awe-inspiring. One of the drawbacks of Nolan's films is there is not so much a musical score as it is just background noise.Overall, "The Prestige" is an absolute must watch. This is Christopher Nolan et. al at their best.

This is an amazing film.I had never heard of it before, but I read about it in an article about the ten best movies with twist endings and had to see what that was all about. It was a twist within a twist within a twist!Not only is the plot incredible, but the acting, the sets, the direction, the score, the whole package is first class.I was pleased to see that I didn't have to worry about awful language or overt sex scenes either.I'll have to watch it again to see what I missed the first time. It's that good.Why hadn't I heard of this one before???

I've said it before, but I'll say it again. Christopher Nolan can do no wrong. Teaming up again with his Batman Begins cast of Christian Bale and Michael Caine, and joined with the Scoop team consisting of X-Men's Wolverinie Hugh Jackman and Scarlett Johansson, the stellar (eye candy) cast already set tongues wagging as to whether they'll be able to live up to the hype of Nolan's long awaited movie directly challenging the other picture about Victorian magicians, The Illusionist. The Prestige is the third act of any magic trick, with the first and second acts being the Pledge and the Turn. And this movie lives up to its namesake to a T. The way the movie plays out, it's like a huge magic trick, with the audience waiting to see how it unfolds, getting the suspicion on how it's done, but yet sitting through it thorough engaged to discover how everything will be revealed and resolved. It tells the story of how two magicians, fellow apprentices turned unfortunate rivals, plod down the slow path of jealous obsession, revenge, and the deliberate attempts to go at lengths to steal each other's ideas, to go one up against the other, a fight in romance, life and the long held passionate drive to discredit each other. There are perfect explanations of the value of secrets, and how secrets can sometimes be used as tools for deceit. What I thought was valuable in the movie was the reinforcement of the notion of how "magic" actually worked. Besides the better understanding of the common body of scientific knowledge, things like having pretty assistants to distract, and having planted staff amongst the audience, somehow made me a sceptic to tricks and illusions, and try harder to spot at which stage had things undergone a sleight of hand. More importantly, it introduced me to the notion and importance of a loyal engineer behind the scenes who designs elaborate contraptions solely for the magician's use, and how having disloyal staff can indeed be detrimental to any leaks of secrets. And Michael Caine took on this engineering role as Cutter, responsible for assisting Rupert Angier (Hugh Jackman) with loyalty and conviction that they could, as a team, beat Christian Bale's Alfred Borden. I thought the cast in general were superb, with Christian Bale leading the charge. Hugh Jackman too showed that he could play a dark character, as the two leads tackled their characters' theme of sacrifice, arrogance, and ultimately redemption, especially for Rupert Angier. I thought he did what he did towards the end was a kind of penance to what happened in the beginning, hoping to kill two birds with a single stone, to exact the sweetest revenge he could possibly muster. What also was intriguing about the two lead characters was that there is no right or wrong, no hero or villain. It's always a shade of grey in what they do, and for Alfred Borden, I felt it's more for survival and the provision for family, which is a strong subplot running through the film. I just have to mention though, that Scarlett Johansson being Esquire's Sexiest Woman Alive, gets to play a flower vase role here as a magician's assistant, though her role as the pawn between the rivals added a little gravitas. The atmosphere was set up great, and so were the costumes and sets. The soundtrack was hauntingly mesmerizing, capturing the look and mood appropriately. Look out too for David Bowie's appearance as a Serbian scientist! I was floored by the deftness of how Nolan weaved and juxtaposed the non linear narrative so flawlessly. While the usual techniques is to use placeholders, or flashback sequences, colours etc, here, time is so fluid, but yet the audience will know precisely which era they're in, without being explicitly told, or working too much of the noodle. You just know, and it's just that feeling of being totally transparent with time. Even though the movie clocked in at slightly more than 2 hours, you don't feel its length at all. At the end of the movie, one quote popped into mind: Misdirection - what the eyes see and the ears hear, the mind believes. Quite apt to describe how things work out during the movie, or to describe in general, Nolan 's films so far. That added richness to lift the movie to a superior plane. Do yourself a favour, if there's one movie you absolutely must watch this week, then Prestige must be your natural choice. It's smart in delivery and slick in presentation. There is none other. P.S. Is it just me, or are notebooks a common feature in Nolan's movies?