The Prestige

Back in September there were commercials and previews out for two movies about magicians: The Illusionist and The Prestige. Trying to keep them separated in my head was quite a task. I even went to see The Illusionist in the theater and thought I was going to see The Prestige. Even though I enjoyed that outing and was entertained by the film, I recently found out The Prestige is way, way better. It even made me want to go watch Batman again after seeing Christian Bale and Sir Michael Caine in action together a second time. In this film you have two magicians who have been around each other for a long time and are competing to see who is best. There is also a grudge war between the two that all started with an unfortunate accident that resulted in Angier's wife's death. In the end, the obsession to be on top ruins both men's lives and there are a few twists in there that aren't easily seen through from the beginning. This film is full of wonderful actors. It was definitely a treat to see Bowie back in action. I think his performance as Nikola Tesla blows his Labyrinth performance out of the water. Andy Serkis plays his assistant. I'm glad to see he's getting more work. The two magicians are played by Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale. Michael Caine is an engineer who builds and designs the illusions and Scarlett Johansson plays an assistant. Besides just being a great movie, I think this film also portrays what an unhealthy obsession can do to somebody when taken to extreme levels. One thing I really appreciated was the lack of offensive material. So often in the box office I see films that great, except I can't recommend them to certain people because of certain content contained throughout. This is one that will hopefully keep you entertained, and, isn't full of nudity, violence, language and drug-use. So go out and see it. I caught it at our dollar theater. Hopefully it's playing somewhere around you for cheap too.