Review of The Prestige (2006) by Renzo V — 18 May 2014

"A RIVALRY BETWEEN TWO ILLUSIONISTS TURNS DEADLY".

- 'The Prestige' is a 2006 drama thriller from director Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight Trilogy, Memento) based on the novel by Christopher Priest. Its story is about two rival stage magicians at the end of the 19th century who want to create the best illusion. A powerful plot performed by an even powerful cast makes this movie a must-see. I absolutely enjoyed it, though you must be focused to understand the big reveal in the end. Starring Hugh Jackman (X-men films, Australia), Christian Bale (The Dark Knight Trilogy, American Psycho), Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation, The Avengers), sir Michael Caine (The Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception), Andy Serkis (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, King Kong), Piper Perabo (Coyote Ugly, Looper) and David Bowie (Labyrinth, the Last Temptation of Christ). Are you watching closely?

London, end of the 19th century - Robert Angier (Jackman), his wife Julia (Perabo) and best friend Alfred Borden (Bale) are working as assistants of a magician. The most spectacular act is the one with the water tank engineered by John Cutter (Caine), where Julia is tied with ropes, locked inside the water tank and makes her escape. One night the act turns into a tragedy as Julia drowns. Angier blames Borden, who cannot recall if he used an experimental knot.

Borden gets married to the beautiful Sarah, who gives birth to Jess. But in order to earn money for his family, Borden begins to perform as 'the Professor' with the help of his engineer Bernard Fallon. In the meantime, Angier has started a career of his own. As 'the Great Dalton', he stands on stage with the help of Cutter and his new love Olivia (Johansson). But it doesn't take long before Borden and Angier want to damage each other's reputation by the use of sabotage.

Eventually Angier becomes obsessed with finding the best illusion. As Olivia and Cutter leave him, he travels the world in search of Nikola Tesla (Bowie) and his assistant Mr. Alley (Serkis), who show him their teleportation device...