I thought the machine came in two parts, the teleporter and some box looking there where the clone, or real guy, or whatever, came out.

Good observation -- the film didn't keep it's own promise...

A


To me it was probably one of the most positively surprising movies of the year. Now I already went in with high expectations, mind you. I loved Batman Begins and the cast seemed very appealing as did the premise. But what I saw pretty much blew me away. I saw the other "magicians" movie, The Illusionist, about a week before it and it really pales in comparison. This one captured me and tied me to my seat all the way through. The conclusion simply blew me away. I kinda knew the Angier trick with the doubles and all, but the stuff about Borden and his twin...that really made my jaw hit the floor. The performances were all well-crafted, maybe except Johansson. Caine was great and Bale/Jackman played off each other perfectly. What I also loved was the fact that both leads were more or less assholes and I kept changing my mind throughout the whole film about who of them was the worse person.

The movie is also a great study on obsession and dedication, but above all, it is a HUGELY entertaining and well-crafted period thriller with a nice sci-fi touch and a lot of dark ideas. Nolan does a greast directing job and delivers his second excellent film in a row. Hopefully The Dark Knight will make it a trio. The Prestige is certainly among my very favorite movies of 2006 and one of the only four I gave a straight A to.

I'd argue his 4th! But I think I enjoyed Insomnia more than other people.

I haven't seen Insomnia...

One of the bigger disapointments from 2006. It was okay for the first 30 minutes but then I lost interest more and more. C+

Wonderful film, loved how Nolan never really tried to keep the twist a big secret and just hit you over the head at the end, that wasnt his intention at all, just gave you the pieces and put it together like a puzzle.

Solid acting all around, Jackman and Bale had some great chemistry and played off each other very well.

Grade - A-

I have the tendency to really like Christopher Nolan right after I watch them, only to have my enjoyment fade in retrospect through the passage of time. Batman Begins fell from an A- all the way to a B-. Same sort of thing with Memento and Insomnia where I have no desire to re-watch the movie beyond a few minutes whenever it's on tv.

So, my immediate reaction to The Prestige after first watching it last night is a strong A- (#5 of the year). However, I'm not sure how high I'll be on it in the future depending on its re-watchability.

Still stands as one of last year's five best movies.

Still stands as one of last year's five most disappointing movies.

I liked it. A whole lot, in fact.

It's hugely entertaining, beautifully directed, and surprisingly restrained. By that I mean, it had the potential to be very flashy, very sci-fi-ish (which I was expecting, based on the trailer), and it's not. Not at all. Not until the last few minutes, really.

Great pacing, great story. Much more effective, moody, and entertaining than the fairly predictable Illusionst.

A-

I saw The Illusionist the other day and loved it gave it an "A". But for me The Prestige still ranks in my top 3 of the year with an A+

I second that.

I think I actually liked the movie quite a bit more on further viewings, now that I understand Borden's erratic behavior.

Very good movie, well acted and the execution of magic tricks was great, with the addition of the rivalry and science.

My only question was do you think the clone that lived, was the one that ultimately killed Jackman's wife, because he wasnt the one Caine yelled at.

A-

Not the best of the year as there are a lot of unanswered questions or overlooks but a solid film.

I think you were confused. Bale's characters were not clones, they were twin brothers. I think the one that lived was not the one that tied the tougher knot. All signs point to the brother that was hanged being the one who accidentally killed Jackman's wife, as he was much more of a risk taker and really seemed more in love with magic, and therefore would want to improve a magic show by tying a more difficult knot. I probably just confused you more.

Prestige

I finally rented this today since blockbuster took it off the 2 day return. I found the acting and the plot and the characters all very good and the film kept my attention throughout. I graded it an A all the way up until Freddie says "Abracadabra." Then we had to have one more comeuppance which I didn't find quite satisfying and I guess it just depends on which character you liked more or who you felt was wronged more but the ending and Freddi and the other having been playing eachother the whole time while fascinating and was foreshadowed early didn't feel quite right to me. I preferred Danton more and to see him blindsided by Cutter was disappointing but the movie overall wasn't ruined by the last few scenes although I think it did hurt my overall impression.

grade A

B+. Loved the film til about 20 minutes left in the film. Then it just got a little too out there for me. Not as good as The Illusionist though they are different films.

Ah, I worded it wrong, I knew they were only brothers, your explanation works, but I think its more ambiguous and makes you lead to your own conclusion.

Oh yeah, it definitely isn't clear cut or anything. We aren't told which one does it or anything.

Boring and monotonous. Worth seeing just for Caine and the scenes at Tesla's place.

Funny, that's just what I was saying about YOU!

You are only ever good when posting from Tesla's place.

Typical Hollywood fare. Nice cast and technicals but the story gets bogged down by too many twists and turns. The ending seemed too sci-fi-ish. B.

That's actually one of the reasons why I thought the movie was great.

I saw this last week.It was surprisingly good.Better than The Illusionist , which isn`t saying much , since i didn`t like the Illusionist.

But it`s not much of a magic movie , it just comes down to a game of Who`s Who.
I wouldn`t call this movie a well executed magic trick.

The start of the movie was great , with Borden and Angier fighting off , destroying each other`s tricks.

But when the "machine" , and all the philosophy behind it , come into play the movie just get`s a little too surreal.
Which is quite a turn off since one thing is magic and the other is reality.And when they say "real magic" it just sounds stupid to me.

After the first 30-45 minutes i thought this was gonna be i well crafted , inteligent movie but instead it took a wrong turn into the science-fiction realm.

I would give it a B+ for what it was , but when i think of what it could have been , i bring it down to a B-