Review of The Prestige (2006) by Johnny T — 15 Jan 2013

To talk more about the movie's layers is to risk giving away too much. I'll say only that this film confirms Nolan's status as the director whose work I look forward to more than any other. Jackman and Bale give standout performances as rivals whose mutual obsession destroys all sense of perspective and ruins lives. The film's prestige is a doozy, both dazzling and preposterous, but if you're watching closely -- as Cutter advises in the film's first few minutes -- it's flawlessly set up. Nolan directs the film exactly like a great trick, so you want to see it again the second it's over. I'd call that wicked clever. Stuffed with hard-working actors, sleek effects and stagy period details, The Prestige, directed by Christopher Nolan from a script he wrote with his brother Jonathan, is an intricate and elaborate machine designed for the simple purpose of diversion. A visually stunning, startlingly clever sleight of hand that will have audiences pondering well after the lights go up.

VERDICT: "High-Quality Stuff" - [Positive Reaction] This is a rating to a movie I view as very entertaining and well made, and definitely worth paying the full price at a theatre to see or own on DVD. It is not perfect, but it is definitely excellent. (Films that are rated 3.5 or 4 stars).