The Prestige attempts a hat trick by combining a ridiculously
good-looking cast, a highly regarded new director, and more than one sleight of
hand. Does it pull it off? Sort of. Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman play rival
magicians who were once friends before an on-stage tragedy drove a wedge between
them. While Bale's Alfred Borden is a more skilled illusionist, Jackman's Rufus
Angier is the better showman; much of the film's interesting first half is their
attempts to sabotage--and simultaneously, top--each other's tricks. Even with
the help of a prop inventor (Michael Caine) and a comely assistant (Scarlett
Johansson), Angier can't match Borden's ultimate illusion: The Transporting Man.
Angier's obsession with learning Borden's trick leads him to an encounter with
an eccentric inventor (David Bowie) in a second half that gets bogged down in
plot loops and theatrics. Director Christopher Nolan, reuniting with his
Batman Begins star Bale, demonstrates the same dark touch that hued that
film, but some plot elements--without giving anything away--seem out of place
with the rest of the movie. It's better to sit back and let the sometimes-clunky
turns steer themselves than try to draw back the black curtain. That said,
The Prestige still manages to entertain long after the magician has left
the stage--a feat in itself. --Ellen A. Kim
