The Prestige

The Prestige boasts an impressive cast with an ambitious story of magicians, magic, and mystery. Like a real magic act, you can see how they do a few of the tricks before hand, but the overall performance is still very good.

The Prestige follows the careers of two rival magicians. When one of them (Christian Bale) develops the impossible magic trick, the other (Hugh Jackman) becomes obsessed with discovering the feat. Eventually, with the aid of science, he develops an even greater trick, but ultimately at great cost. Bale and Jackman are quite good, but the rest of the cast is also impressive. Scarlett Johansen is the lovely but conflicted assistant working for both men; Michael Caine plays the stage manager and trick engineer; David Bowie plays the true magician of them all, the famous inventor Nicola Tesla. The film has something of a surprise ending, although many viewers will have already figured it out. But that doesn't diminish the thrill or enjoyment. As the movie immediately explains, the title refers to the third part of all magic tricks, in which the illusion is presented. Indeed, The Prestige creates an intense, fascinating illusion.
∗∗∗1/2