The Prestige, directed by Christopher Nolan in 2006 was a spectacular mystery that took you on adventure after adventure. The actors did a flawless job playing their parts, and the props were all in their correct setting. However, by the best part of the movie was the plot. Two friends who performed illusions and tricks together were separated by a tragic event, which was the death of a wife. The husband blamed his friend for the death, which made them rivals till death. Throughout the movie they tried to get new tricks, until one finds one that isn’t magic, it’s real. Finally all the suspense builds out, and we find out how one of them ends up dying. At the very end, there is an amazing plot twists that wraps the whole movie up.
The acting in The Prestige was perfect. Christian Bale, who played Alfred Borden probably did the best job. His role involved playing a character with two personalities. Each personality loved a different woman, and each of them acted in a different way. Hugh Jackman who played Robert Angier did an excellent job as well. Some of the powerful scenes were you could really see his acting skills were at his wife’s funeral. It definitely conveyed the fact that he blames Borden for the death of his wife. Angier’s role was that of a man who could never succeed unless he was better than the competition. He had a huge audience, and they clapped and cheered after each one of the performances. However, he never gave himself the recognition he deserved. A scene that shows this perfectly is when he tells his assistant to work for his friend instead. You could tell he meant business, as he played the character with ease.
The movie definitely made you feel like you were in the year of 1899. One of the things that was amazing is the detail they paid attention to in the scenes that were inside of homes. They managed to find all kinds of old goodies, like lamps, pots, pans, stoves, and their clothes. The movie took place in London, so the people should be expected to have accents. In the crowd, you hear them saying things that aren’t typical in western society such as ‘mate’, and ‘bloody’. The prison scenes must have been extremely difficult to setup. They had old styled prison bars, shackles, and locks. They also had dozens of inmates and officers in old styled clothing. Even the projects other inmates were working on in the background appeared to be authentic. Even things such as a whole city back then being wired with electricity back then was explained. Around that time there would have been an electricity format war. In the movie, they managed to even to incorporate that. There was nothing out of its place, and it all seemed to belong in that time zone.
The plot for this movie was one of the best I’ve seen. The whole movie was one giant mystery. The plot slowly unraveled during the movie, and then had a huge climax where everything was revealed at the end. Throughout the movie, there were a series of mini climaxes as well. For instance, the part where he shows the ‘real magic’, and the person he’s competing against gets angered. There are also parts where people kid kidnapped, that can be considered a mini climax as well. I think the movie length in general was fine; it wasn’t too long or short. The movie got exciting at the perfect intervals, keeping you on the edge of your seat. There will definitely not be a time where you’re bored during this exciting film.
In conclusion, this movie is definitely a one of a kind. The acting is superb, the props and the realistic setting were of high quality, and the plot line was sensational. If you want a movie that will keep you on the edge of your seat, and keep you guessing, this is an absolute must see. I’d definitely rate this movie a five out of five.
