$2.50 Reviews: The Prestige (2006)

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Marter

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Oct 27, 2009
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$2.50 Reviews:
The Prestige
<img height=400>http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/1446/theprestigeposter.jpg

I would have thought The Prestige would be more memorable than it turned out being. This isn't due to it being hyped up or anything either. No, I went into this movie knowing nothing about it, except for its stars and director. The reason I thought it should be more memorable, was because of the fact that I really enjoyed watching it. Then, about 9 hours later, I struggled to even remember its name. I remember watching a movie, and I remembered that I enjoyed it, but it took a while until I got the title to that movie, and subsequently remember what it was about and why I enjoyed it.

[Img_Inline width="275" Caption="'I have moneys. ALL THE MONEYS!!!'" Align="left"]http://img813.imageshack.us/img813/5600/theprestige10.jpg[/Img_Inline]

See, I did enjoy it. A lot, in fact. It was suspenseful, the story was entertaining, and there were good actors playing interesting characters. There were many twists throughout, and, like a good magic trick, you're never quite kept in the loop.

The film is about magic, or more specifically one magic trick in particular. This trick is called "The Transported Man". The trick allows someone to teleport himself across the stage, something that would be impressive even if the film hadn't taken place in the past. The plot mostly revolves around two men. One of which came up with the trick (Christian Bale), while the other one wishes to steal it (Hugh Jackman). That's the simplest explanation one could give, because the story has enough twists in it to make it complicated to explain. It has many subplots that are explored, from Bale's character's relationships to finding out what Nikola Tesla (David Bowie) really did with his free time.

Oh yeah, did I not mention that Tesla is played by Bowie? Well, he is, and is almost unrecognizable in the role. I'm not going to say that he did a great job, but he didn't do poorly. Neither did any of the lead actors, with all of them playing their parts well. Surprisingly, Scarlett Johansson manages to pull off a British accent well, and Jackman does the same North American accent he's done before in films like Van Helsing or the X-men films. Bale gets to use his native British accent for his role, something that is a nice change from the American accent he is often told to use.

I'm still not quite sure why The Prestige wasn't that memorable a film for me. Maybe it's because it threw so many plot points at me throughout its running time, or maybe life is just too busy in order to fully grasp and remember them all. Christopher Nolan's films usually do have a lot of plot in them, often times not making sense until the end, and that is definitely the case here. I think that it would be more memorable on repeat viewings, as you will actually know what is going the entire time.

[Img_Inline width="275" Caption="Okay, so the special effects kind of sucked too" Align="right"]http://img695.imageshack.us/img695/1791/prestige2006.jpg[/Img_Inline]

That's the only real problem that The Prestige has. It's story can get a little hard to follow at times. Now, can a film be criticized for something that it is trying to do? I believe it can, and am therefore going to do that. The Prestige tries hard to keep things from getting too complicated, but there are times, few and far between as they are, where it lost me a little bit. These times are few, and the film does manage to involve you again soon after, but at these points, the film is frustrating to watch. You realize that you are watching something good, but you aren't being told what's going on.

And yet, despite the story sometimes being too hard to follow, the film is still incredibly entertaining. There are too many things going in the film's direction to have the story ruin the experience. Good acting, a decent direction and an interesting story manage to make The Prestige something that I plan on watching again fairly soon. Maybe it'll be more memorable the second time along, I can only hope so anyway.


<color=white>.

I'm really sorry that this review is a tad on the short side, but yesterday, (November 14th), when I wrote this, really sucked. Don't feel like writing any more, and I figured I would just tell you guys that there is a reason for it, and that I'm not just cheating you. Although, even in my right mind, I don't know if I would write more, except for possibly something about the cinematography (which was great, BTW).

Anyway, appologies for the shorter review than normal, and I hope you'll forgive me. :)

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Engarde

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Jul 24, 2010
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Wait.....WAIT......David Bowie was Tesla? I had no clue.
Anyway, I agree with you, as you said, I was a bit lost watching it too, but I would recommend it to others, in the end I enjoyed it.
 

Blind Sight

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May 16, 2010
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David Bowie was Tesla...and he's also the Sovereign of the Guild of Calamious Intent on the Venture Brothers, therefore...we're all living on Mars?


GAH, DAVID BOWIE CANON CONFUSES ME.

Nice review, I actually like this movie better then Inception, simply because it's more grounded in reality. Nolan has the habit of not explaining things and expecting the audience to suspend their disbelief (stuff like the Joker somehow getting bombs on the exact ferries they'd use to get the prisoners and civilians out of Gotham in the Dark Knight). Now, when it's just a little plot thing like 'David Bowie's magical electric cloning machine' I'm cool with that, but he didn't explain much about the dream technology in Inception, and that was the entire focus of the movie. I still liked it, but I thought the Prestige was better structured.
 

tthor

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Apr 9, 2008
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this has got to be one of the best movies i've seen! i watched it at like midnight on tv, with my girlfriend just wanting to go to sleep, i couldn't help but want to see this movie. i loved it~
Also, upon realization that Tesla was a real person (why didn't anyone teach me bout him?!) and learning bout his work, Nicola Tesla is now my new idol. fuck you Einstein :)
 

googleit6

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May 12, 2010
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You actually reviewed it! You're a trooper :p

So, The Prestige... Your review actually made me want to watch it. When you started talking about the magic trick, you had me hooked. (Though I had to laugh at the lightning in your second picture)

But special effects shouldn't make a movie, right? *Kind of referencing Day After Tomorrow here* So no one cares if they aren't that... up to date.

Even though your review was shorter today, it was really well written, Marter. Great job! :)
 

Marter

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Oct 27, 2009
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googleit6 said:
You actually reviewed it! You're a trooper :p
Yep. After you left, I wrote this. Took about an hour (usually around 30 min.), and it was shorter than normal, but whatever.

So, The Prestige... Your review actually made me want to watch it. When you started talking about the magic trick, you had me hooked. (Though I had to laugh at the lightning in your second picture)Good, it is a pretty good movie.

But special effects shouldn't make a movie, right? *Kind of referencing Day After Tomorrow here* So no one cares if they aren't that... up to date.
Depends on the movie. If Avatar had sub-par special effects, there's no way it would have done well at the box office.

Even though your review was shorter today, it was really well written, Marter. Great job! :)
Thanks.
 

Gildan Bladeborn

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Aug 11, 2009
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I remember reading our local newspaper's "review" of this film right before I went to see it for the first time in the theater (I went back with family members that didn't watch it with me the first time, and I currently own the DVD), and the fellow who wrote that had absolutely panned the film, making it clear that going to watch it would be nothing but a waste of your time. I thought to myself "Self, there is simply no way that review is accurate", and went to see it anyways - and was completely vindicated when that viewing confirmed the movie was awesome.

Marter said:
Bale gets to use his native British accent for his role, something that is a nice change from the American accent he is often told to use.
Small quibble here: While the truism that "saying someone has a British accent" is an essentially meaningless descriptor springs to mind (what with there being no such thing as a "British accent", since you can go 5 miles down a road and find an entirely different accent), for purposes of critique I'll allow that there is such a thing as a "British accent", in the minds of the average American reader at the very least.

What Americans think of as a British accent though is not the accent that Bale has, as he is Welsh. Wales is of course technically part of Great Britain, so you aren't wrong per se by calling his accent that, just a bit misleading.
 

Phoenixmgs_v1legacy

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Sep 1, 2010
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The Prestige is my favorite Nolan movie and one of my favorite movies of all time, and I don't even care for magic. Everything positive you said about the movie, I agree with; every negative thing you said about it, I disagree with LOL. I really think this is almost as good a movie as you can make. The ending quote by Caine is one of my favorite movie quotes of all time.

Some spoilers in the following:

I just love the back and forth between Bale and Jackman, and especially how Bale's character messes with Jackman's character through his own journal. Also, the movie worked perfectly as a magic trick as well; the movie tells you at least twice exactly what the trick to "The Transported Man" is but I was thinking "it can't be that" because I was interested in the Tesla stuff going on instead; I was distracted just like what a good magic trick does. Also, Tesla is one of the most interesting people in history, he came up with so many inventions it's ridiculous. I would really love to see a movie on just Tesla.
 

reallycoolusername

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Nov 18, 2010
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there is one major thing to notice about this film which has had alot of effort put into it. it acts the way a magician acts

i do alot of work around circuses and inevitably i meet alot of magicians. what you said about keeping you at a distance is sort of the point. when watching magic you never fully know what is happening but the magician is manipulative enough to keep you waiting for the final trick. this is how the movie also works. your supposed to be slightly frustrated so that the prestige is that much more impressive.

it also serves as a re-working of the magic comunity. what they have done is taken the most obvious conclusion an audience jumps to and told you that is how it happens. not even kidding, watch it again. the bird trick can be potentialy done on any surface (and no im not telling)

where the prestige went sort of wrong is that magicians never have storys in their shows and making a film using their style was always going to have its setbacks. however honsetly they did everything they could to fix that.

one last thing is that many have the same reaction to ACTUAL MAGIC. two weeks after you see a magic show you have forgotton it. the same works for the circus in general. everyone knows they like the circus however only think about when they have the oppotunity to attend. and not a single one of us can tell you why this happens. it just does

sorry, i did not mean to impede or anything i just thought i would contribute from someone who has had magic completely ruined for them
 

zombiesinc

One day, we'll wake the zombies
Mar 29, 2010
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I think I need to watch this film again sometime. The first time I watched it I felt disappointed, but that could have easily been because I wasn't paying enough attention.

The Prestige tries hard to keep things from getting too complicated, but there are times
Only thing I noticed Marter.