The Prestige

The Prestige is a 2006 period film directed by Christopher Nolan, with a screenplay adapted by Christopher and Jonathan Nolan from Christopher Priest's award-winning 1995 novel of the same name. The story follows Robert Angier and Alfred Borden, rivalrous stage magicians in fin de siècle London. Obsessed with creating the best stage illusion, a competitive one-upmanship ensues with tragic results.
The film features Christian Bale as Alfred Borden, Hugh Jackman as Robert Angier, and David Bowie as Nikola Tesla. It also stars Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson, Piper Perabo, Andy Serkis, and Rebecca Hall. The film reunites Nolan with actors Bale and Caine from Batman Begins, and returning cinematographer Wally Pfister, production designer Nathan Crowley, and film score composer David Julyan.
Priest's epistolary novel was adapted to the screen using Nolan's distinctive nonlinear narrative structure, with themes of duality, obsession, sacrifice, and secrecy pervading the conflict. Released on October 20, 2006 to good reviews and strong box office results, the film received Academy Award nominations for Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction.

(from wilkipedia)

I just watched this and was blown away.


First off, it's confusing as hell, and sometimes mildly boring, but by the time it ends, it's so damn convoluted, it's actually pretty darn awesome.

The timeline is most confusing, as you are in 3 or 4 different flashbacks on a constant basis. Figuring out what time frame you are in can get frustrating.

Also, it's hard to figure out who is the bad guy and who is the good guy in the film, as I rooted for one guy sometimes, and the other the next.

Some noteable cameos by David Bowie, who is a good actor. The actor who played Gollum as a hobbit was in it. The guy who stole Data's body for his own in Star Trek was in it, and the guy who played Picards nemesis in the holodeck (miority, don't know how to spell his name) was in it.


SPOILERS:


The ending was horryifying to me. The cost Hugh Jackman payed to complete the trick. Each time he did the trick, he didn't know if he was the one to drown of the one to appear up top. That would SUCK my friend. All those vats full of dead Hugh's freaked the hell out of me.

The other guy, Batman, was just a twin. He had no trick. But Hugh went to David Bowie, had the Tesla Coil made, cloned himself each trick, but would kill one of himself.

Kind of movie I need to watch again, as it tricks you in almost every scene, you don't really know what the hell is going on. Plus the timeline was so damn confusing. Flashbacks within flashbacks all playing like a damn 8 track tape, you didn't know how the story was advancing.

I liked it because it wasn't predictable, it kept me guessing, and I wasn't let down by the ending.

Dave, I thought that this movie was bloody brilliant. It was confusing, to say the least... but it kept you on the edge of your seat, trying not to blink, because you needed to know what was happening.

Jackman's story line was tragic, and I felt bad for him, and what he went through. But, he pushed himself to that. He had to do it.

Bale was someone that I hated in this movie, until the end when you find out the truth about the two brothers. Still, it explained a lot... but you couldn't figure it out.

I loved seeing David Bowie in this movie. I think that he's a wonderful actor, and I wish that he would star in more roles.

yeah, I kept expecting him to do something stupid, but he was in character and did an excellent job. He did some movie in the 80's but I never saw it.

The Bale character, yeah I hated him most of the movie, then rooted for the "good" twin towards the end.

All those Hugh Jackmans in the water tanks....wow. He was really really pissed at Bale for killing his wife. He wanted that revenge so bad, he killed himself over and over and over. Tragic.

Never heard of it, but it sounds freaky. Definitely gonna look out for it.

I wanted to see it, and told Sandy June, and she got another movie by mistake. The Illusionist. Which was cool.

It was a love story, while The Prestige is a revenge story.


I liked them both. Both about magicians at the turn of the century.

They were both excellent movies. So, you can't go wrong with either.

Illusionist was pretty dope. Norton is always a class act.

Except for when he's not.

This one sounds more exciting, but the whole flashback thing and not knowing the time line deal makes me think of Memento, which I honestly didn't like all that much... it had a good idea, don't get me wrong, but the movie itself I felt was kinda flat.

The flashbacks make sense later, but they got at least 3 timelines going on. I couldn't keep up. But that's cool, at least the movie wasn't too easy.

Was it like 1000 Arabian Nights kind of flashbacking? Like the girl tells a story with a cliffhanger so she doesn't die, but the character in that story tells a story and the character in that story tells another story, and you never know when it's ever going to end.


And behold! 24 was born.

Wasn't bad at all; I liked this movie a lot. The flashbacking didn't really bug me that much.