The Prestige

I was really looking forward to seeing this film since the first trailer was shown and after seeing it, I must admit that I am not happy.

The story behind the prestige is one of rivalry and jealousy; Two magicians bonded by the ties of scholarship in the art are suddenly torn apart when a tragedy occurs. Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) is the more talented of the two and has a gift of not only performing his magic convincingly but reading the magic of other magicians to predict the method in which it is done. Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) is more the showman, with limitless money from his heritage and his skill for performance,he is able to cover his mediocre talent with his natural charm and presentation. The pair go back and forth throughout the story, sneaking to watch the other’s shows and sometimes even interfering with a nasty stunt or two. This goes on until Alfred discovers an amazing magic trick that sends Robert into a fanatical search to uncover the method to mimicking it.

The story itself is not too unique, friends who become enemies over a woman. The tormented lover who is torn between ambition and love… the showcase of blind jealousy… it’s all in here. The thing that didn’t sit well with me however is the execution of the twist… and it is quite a twist mind you but it left me saying “eh” instead of “whoa”. I cannot say, I saw it coming but when it did I wasn’t floored like for instance The Sixth Sense, had a twist that floored me, and that is exactly what a twist should do, not make me smirk. I want to like this movie so badly but in the end I can’t… a movie with two awesome actors in Bale and Jackman… and I’m a HUGE Jackman guy but unfortunately this one fell short for me.

In the end, the sexy Scarlett Johansson and the talented Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale wasn’t enough to make me want to buy this when it hits DVD, but that doesn’t make it the worst movie. For my synopsis, I honestly think I expected a bit too much and got burnt for it. Or did I? If you agree with most of my reviews and are like-minded in your tastes then put your money into The Departed instead of this flick. If you’re adventurous then go check it out.

Scarlett does have a pretty… mouth. Go see it for that lol.