Batman Versus Wolverine

Are You Watching Closely? Whether it’s making a movie or writing a review, or any creative endeavour in general, the methodical choice of what the audience sees or read weighs heavily on the mind of the artist. But every trick is more than the sum of its part, and that’s what ultimately The Prestige is: the perfect ending thought unobtainable moments before it hits. Spoilers ahead, so read at your own risk if you haven't watched the movie.

Rupert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) are rival 19th century magicians. They start out as friends and colleagues, until Angier holds Borden responsible for the tragic loss of his wife, a lovely magician’s assistant. Angier and Borden soon are drawn into an endless cycle of sabotage and espionage upon each another until Borden invents a new trick Angier can’t replicate. This drives Angier to travel to the ends of the Earth, seeking out Nikola Tesla himself (David Bowie) to build a machine to compete with Borden’s trick. Angier’s return engagement gets deadly though, leaving one magician dead and the other accused of his murder.

This is where the story gets interesting. The machine that Tesla creates for Angier actually creates a doppelganger - an exact copy - of anything placed at its centre. What Angier has done in order to make the trick work so well, is that he has placed a water tank under the trapdoor at the centre of the machine to catch and drown the doppelganger, while he gets transported some 60 feet behind the audience in the circle seats. Angier does not reveal this till the end. However, he himself doesn't know if he's the real Angier or the doppelganger, probably because the copy is so exact. We are told and later shown, that he performed over 100 acts, so there are over 100 doppelgangers each in over 100 tanks, that have been placed under a derelict theatre to hide the truth from everyone. He has blind stage-hands working for him so that the secret of the trick is never revealed to anyone else.

The most prestigious element The Prestige has going for it is the cast. Bale and Jackman are both amazing actors able to depict the intense obsessesion of their characters. It's no surprise Bale nails the passionate and accented Borden, but it is a surprise how adeptly he nails a magic trick of his own right in front of the movie-goer’s eyes. Jackman on the other hand is able to play with the audience’s sympathizes, for both the death of Angier’s wife as well as Jackman’s own track-record of more clean-cut protagonists.

Michael Caine plays Cutter, a veteran trick-maker who takes Angier under his wing. Caine seems right at home in the 19th century, and his performance gives credibility to the insight and motivations of magicians. Scarlett Johansson's Olivia, an assistant caught between both Angier and Borden, is introduced later. Although Johansson's performance gives Olivia and her relationships real emotional weight, her character winds up a bit underused in the grand scheme of things. David Bowie's Nikola Tesla is perhaps restrained from what we tend to expect from the rock star/actor, but this was necessary for his role. In a lighter role, Andy Serkis of Gollum fame from Lord of the Rings, played Tesla's aide Alley. Although Alley is considered more a peripheral character, Serkis' energy and charisma ultimately makes him something more.

Based the novel of the same title by Christopher Priest, The Prestige is directed by Batman Begins and Memento director Christopher Nolan. It is cleverly directed in such a way that you have to literally watch closely to every dialogue and every scene, which presents clues and answers to the entire movie.

The Prestige is a wonderous movie filled with magic tricks and plot twists to mislead the audience, with a touch of science, which leads it into one of the most prestigious film endings of recent memory.

Highly, highly recommended to anyone who's looking for a smart and magical movie, with excellent acting to enjoy.

8 out of 10 stars

Update: A 2 in 1 Movie Poster For The Prestige