The next film I will be reviewing is the 2006 hit The Prestige. It was the number 73 movie on IMDB’s top 250 list that I am trying to complete. I had no idea what this movie was about going in, because somehow I missed all hype, trailers, and marketing completely for this movie. I seem to prefer not knowing a lot about a movie before I watch it, so at least it had that going for it. The film revolves around 2 competing magicians who seem to go to any lengths and measures to be at the top of their craft, sacrificing sometimes things that they aren’t ready to sacrifice in their quest to become the best.
Plot: 7/10
Some may find the plot very confusing, the movie includes a lot of flashbacks, and a lot of time the movie flips back and forth to present time, the past, and back to the present , leaving the viewer at times wondering which part was which. I was able for the most part to keep up, but can see where people are coming from with this complaint of confusion. The thing I liked most about this film was the surprise ending. It stacks up there with great ending such as “The Sixth Sense” and “The Usual Suspects” I understand that sometimes to build up for a surprise ending you at times need a complicated and sometimes difficult to understand direction of the film, but the creators, in my opinion, could have done a better job at keeping everything in good order for the viewer.
Acting: 8/10
I love the cast of this film, from such blue chip actors as Christian Bale (Dark Knight, The Fighter), and Hugh Jackman (XMen, Australia) to veteran Michael Caine(Dark Knight, The Cider House Rules). Bale gives, in my opinion, his best acting performance to date, and the fact that he did not get any Oscar attention for this movie baffles me. I have always loved Jackman as an actor, I tend to lean towards actors and actresses that, in real life, are good people, Hugh Jackman has always impressed me with his down to earth and kind demeanor, so to see him give such an awarding performance allows me to root for him even more. That all being said, I had to add on another point to the acting category, simply because of the two female lead actresses involved. Two of my all time favorites Piper Perabo(Coyote Ugly, Covert Affairs) and of course, Scarlett Johansson(Lost in Translation, Iron Man 2) give strong performances along with giving the male viewers something nice to look at. I mean really, how could you not like Scarlett Johansson?
Visuals: 6/10
you have nothing really spectacular here. I feel as though they could have done so much more with the story and theme they had to work with as far as visuals of the film. The Art Direction and Cinematography were both top notch, as both were aspects were nominated for Academy Awards, but this is all, visually, this film had going for it. The film was set in the late 1800’s, and the costumes, makeup, and sets all depicted this time period perfectly, but I found myself wondering, with the endless creative world of magic and illusions, why, for the most part, are we looking at canaries in small cages? When this film began, and I realized what the film was going to be about, I had very high hopes on what I was going to see throughout, needless to say I was a little disappointed.
Sound: 3/10
You talk about losing serious potential Chux Points by not putting in the necessary work, who was in charge of the score or soundtrack of this film? I sit here only 10 minutes after the final credits have rolled, and I cannot definitively tell you whether a single song was even in the film, this should not happen. I understand that sometimes the sound is not an important tool in making s successful film, but you have to have something, music and sound can be used in so many different ways to accomplish so many different goals in the world of cinema, too bad the film makers chose to not utilize all the “tricks of the trade” to make this film what it had the potential to be.
Some may find the plot very confusing, the movie includes a lot of flashbacks, and a lot of time the movie flips back and forth to present time, the past, and back to the present , leaving the viewer at times wondering which part was which. I was able for the most part to keep up, but can see where people are coming from with this complaint of confusion. The thing I liked most about this film was the surprise ending. It stacks up there with great ending such as “The Sixth Sense” and “The Usual Suspects” I understand that sometimes to build up for a surprise ending you at times need a complicated and sometimes difficult to understand direction of the film, but the creators, in my opinion, could have done a better job at keeping everything in good order for the viewer.
Acting: 8/10
I love the cast of this film, from such blue chip actors as Christian Bale (Dark Knight, The Fighter), and Hugh Jackman (XMen, Australia) to veteran Michael Caine(Dark Knight, The Cider House Rules). Bale gives, in my opinion, his best acting performance to date, and the fact that he did not get any Oscar attention for this movie baffles me. I have always loved Jackman as an actor, I tend to lean towards actors and actresses that, in real life, are good people, Hugh Jackman has always impressed me with his down to earth and kind demeanor, so to see him give such an awarding performance allows me to root for him even more. That all being said, I had to add on another point to the acting category, simply because of the two female lead actresses involved. Two of my all time favorites Piper Perabo(Coyote Ugly, Covert Affairs) and of course, Scarlett Johansson(Lost in Translation, Iron Man 2) give strong performances along with giving the male viewers something nice to look at. I mean really, how could you not like Scarlett Johansson?
Visuals: 6/10
you have nothing really spectacular here. I feel as though they could have done so much more with the story and theme they had to work with as far as visuals of the film. The Art Direction and Cinematography were both top notch, as both were aspects were nominated for Academy Awards, but this is all, visually, this film had going for it. The film was set in the late 1800’s, and the costumes, makeup, and sets all depicted this time period perfectly, but I found myself wondering, with the endless creative world of magic and illusions, why, for the most part, are we looking at canaries in small cages? When this film began, and I realized what the film was going to be about, I had very high hopes on what I was going to see throughout, needless to say I was a little disappointed.
Sound: 3/10
You talk about losing serious potential Chux Points by not putting in the necessary work, who was in charge of the score or soundtrack of this film? I sit here only 10 minutes after the final credits have rolled, and I cannot definitively tell you whether a single song was even in the film, this should not happen. I understand that sometimes the sound is not an important tool in making s successful film, but you have to have something, music and sound can be used in so many different ways to accomplish so many different goals in the world of cinema, too bad the film makers chose to not utilize all the “tricks of the trade” to make this film what it had the potential to be.
Overall Entertainment: 9/10
Now I must admit, it baffles me at times, I go through all the categories, I give low to medium ratings all most or all of the categories, but when it comes down to the simple question of whether or not I was entertained, I at times finding myself pleasantly surprised at the answer. I enjoyed this film a lot, and even though, yes, there are a lot of improvements that could have been made in the creation of this film, the surprise twist ending and the unique premise have me whole heartedly prepared to recommend this film to anyone. I think it’s an entertaining film for a number of different movie fans and one that you should take time and sit down and enjoy.
Chux Flix Total Rating: 66/100
Now I must admit, it baffles me at times, I go through all the categories, I give low to medium ratings all most or all of the categories, but when it comes down to the simple question of whether or not I was entertained, I at times finding myself pleasantly surprised at the answer. I enjoyed this film a lot, and even though, yes, there are a lot of improvements that could have been made in the creation of this film, the surprise twist ending and the unique premise have me whole heartedly prepared to recommend this film to anyone. I think it’s an entertaining film for a number of different movie fans and one that you should take time and sit down and enjoy.
Chux Flix Total Rating: 66/100
Favorite trivia for this movie: The main characters' initials spell ABRA (Alfred Borden Robert Angier), as in Abracadabra, a common word used by magicians
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