Movie Review - Prestige, The
[I haven't written a review in a while. I've had to get my groove back. Here it is.] Oh yeah. I'll warn you once, I spoil the movie.
There are movies and books about magicians and magic that are wonderful entertainment. "Carter the Great" is one of them, "Grift Sense" is one of them. "Harry Potter" is one of them. The Prestige is not one of them. The movie itself has its good qualities, such as when you find out in the end that one of them has a twin . Oops. Did I just spoil it? I don't like movies when movies have such a mundane twist, yet people are intent on hiding it. It doesn't make it any less enjoyable to watch the movie; it was very good at giving clues and foreshadowing. What does make the movie less enjoyable is how the magic is portrayed. While it's understandable that this is in the times of Chun Ling Soo and Nikola Tesla, M. Robert Houdin would have been appalled at how some of the animals (including humans) were treated, if not the "performances." I quote the word because what's shown as magic in the movie are really just tricks: small illusions with no patter or performance. It comes across as a "see what I can do" effect. The two men rival being the better magician, yet I felt that neither of them were of the slightest bit a magician. For modern movies with magic, I would put The Illusionist before this one. Grade:C+ (rent, not buy).
There are movies and books about magicians and magic that are wonderful entertainment. "Carter the Great" is one of them, "Grift Sense" is one of them. "Harry Potter" is one of them. The Prestige is not one of them. The movie itself has its good qualities, such as when you find out in the end that one of them has a twin . Oops. Did I just spoil it? I don't like movies when movies have such a mundane twist, yet people are intent on hiding it. It doesn't make it any less enjoyable to watch the movie; it was very good at giving clues and foreshadowing. What does make the movie less enjoyable is how the magic is portrayed. While it's understandable that this is in the times of Chun Ling Soo and Nikola Tesla, M. Robert Houdin would have been appalled at how some of the animals (including humans) were treated, if not the "performances." I quote the word because what's shown as magic in the movie are really just tricks: small illusions with no patter or performance. It comes across as a "see what I can do" effect. The two men rival being the better magician, yet I felt that neither of them were of the slightest bit a magician. For modern movies with magic, I would put The Illusionist before this one. Grade:C+ (rent, not buy).