Prestige, The
I was initially worried about this film after the bland atrocities of Christopher Nolan’s last film: Batman Begins, which only us here at Top Crap seem not to love. I was intrigued by everything I saw about this film, but weary that Nolan’s streak had well and truly ended after the brilliant Momento and excellent Insomnia. As it turns out I was absolutely captivated by this story of two duelling magicians… until the very end.
Loved the look and the fractured narrative (if someone can do it well, it’s Nolan!) but felt like I was kind of cheated on its promise of misdirection and magic with the ‘double-twist’ ending. I don’t want to ruin it for anyone, but it may as well have revealed that Hugh Jackman was an alien. That level of twist. This is not to say I didn’t appreciate it, just that to turn into a sci-fi flick at the last minute was a little jarring, even if it had been heavily signposted along the way.
Mostly though The Prestige is a good flick. Jackman and Bale are captivating in their fierce rivalry, and the inevitable subtext about film-makers being modern day relatives of these magicians is interesting, if not a little vain. And as much as I love David Bowie, I’m completely unsure why he has gotten such praise for his 3 minutes of exposition here, other than the fact that he is Bowie. Guess that’s enough for some people.