so i went to the cinema after a long hiatus. my last one was The DaVinci Code. This time, i had to bear with the sight of Hugh Jackman (i bet it was Jelita’s choice). Anyway there were at least 12 of us booking nearly the entire two rows of the cinema. When was the last time i went to such a groupy event? I can’t remember….
So The Prestige was an OK movie…. i would give it 3 stars out of 5… mostly because i feel cheated!!!
while the concept of the movie is great with background setting of magician power plays…. the ultimate great magic rests with a single machine… a HUMAN XEROX… how corny is that? it really threw me off…. plus, Hugh Jackman was finally killed with a single gunshot… what a dramatic ending!
but for what it’s worth… a very interesting show… the guys were wishing that Scarlett Johansson was Xerox-ed instead of Hugh Jackman. Fat Chance!
I have just seen and thorughly enjoyed The Prestige and found myself engrossed in the film right fromt he beginning. The talents of Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale and Michael Caine were excellent but the honours going to Hugh Jackman because of the changes in his character from a very happy married man with his wife as his assistant to a heartbroken man who was sure his friend had deilberately tied the wrong knot bringing about her death. He wants revenge for his wife’s death and so he goes out as the showman to become the better magician. However Bale I feel just wants to destroy him and does. But I felt like I had been shot when Jackman was shot because I did not expect this and felt Bale as the really bad guy got of scot free. He killed two people and was responsible for the death of his wife. My misdirection was I did not pick up on the fact Bale had a brother and I should have ‘I love you today’ -
‘not today ‘I queried it in my mind but was not quick enough to get it before the end.
Yes I wished Scarlet had been despatched instead of Hugh Jackman she was completely unconvincing and not depth of purpose. But I do not agree with your description of the machine as a Human Xerox - because it did not copy did it - that was misdirection. I would give the film 4 out 5 stars without any hesitation
Hi Anne,
How was it a misdirection. I have always thought that the machine was a cloning machine. At the end of the movie, you could see a lot of glass boxes filled with water where all the clones were eventually ‘killed’. Doesnt this prove that all the clones are copied where the original i.e. Hugh Jackman was transported and take the third act i.e. The Prestige?
Perhaps, i failed to appreciate the idea behind the Cloning Machine. Why continue cloning hundreds and killing all of them when they could have cloned just one and used the clone as a substitute just like how it was done with the drunken double?