“The Prestige” swept the box office during its opening week, pulling in $14,818,000 this weekend alone according to movies.yahoo.com. Directed by Christopher Nolan, the all-star cast includes Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, and Michael Caine and the best part is that none of them disappointed the audience.
Kirk Honeycutt from TheHollywoodReporter.com noted his disappointment in the characters saying, “Audiences might enjoy this cinematic sleight of hand, but the key characters are such single-minded, calculating individuals that the real magic would be to find any heart in this tale.” Honeycutt remained adamant about the lack of characterization, but he seemed to be alone in his letdown.
The majority of critics favored the movie and managed to rebut negative reviews. Brett Buckalew of FilmStew.com said, “Like that cult success [“Memento”], Prestige is an ever-shifting hall of mirrors so masterfully executed that its emotional hollowness actually manages to be beside the point; it’s all about the considerable entertainment value of a shrewd con game.” This is precisely what keeps the ball rolling throughout the film.
Rupert Angier and Alfred Borden (Jackman and Bale respectively) play up and coming magicians in turn-of-the-century England. What starts as a friendship develops into a life-long rivalry after the preventable death of a loved one. Both have their shares of rise and fall in fame until Borden reveals the ultimate feat of magic: “The Transported Man.”
During his quest to be the best, Borden tricks Angier into a trip to the Americas. While at first angered by the trickery, this trickery ends up putting Angier on top.
The rest of the movie focuses on Angier’s obsession with “one-upping” Borden and finally giving Borden what Angier thinks he deserves. Who really wins, though? The end is full of unexpected road twists and plot turns.
Be sure to catch the magicians at work. “The Prestige” is fresh into theaters and a must see while it’s there