MOVIE NIGHT TRAFFIC LIGHT

Syncopy (Distributor: Touchstone Pictures)

$40M

Christopher Nolan (Batman Begins)

Christopher Nolan (Following), Aaron Ryder (The Amateurs), Emma Thomas (Batman Begins, Insomnia)

Christopher Nolan (Batman Begins), Jonathon Nolan (Memento)

Hugh Jackman – Robert Angier (X-Men, Van Helsing, Kate & Leopold)

Christian Bale – Alfred Borden (Batman Begins, The New World)

Michael Caine – Cutter (Bewitched, Secondhand Lions, Miss Congeniality)

Scarlett Johansson – Olivia Wenscombe (The Black Dahlia, The Island,   Lost in Translation)

There are three parts to any magic trick . . . no idea what the first two might be, but the third is called The Prestige.

 The Prestige is brought to us by the people that did Batman Begins last year and stars Batman himself – Christian Bale.  Starring along with Christian is Hugh Jackman of X-Men fame.  They both play magicians back in the 1800’s.  They are friends that turn into rivals when they are each driven to become the most infamous magicians in history.  At every opportunity, they try to out-do each other.  This results in personal betrayal, nasty sabotage, and some amazing ingenuity.  They are helped by Michael Caine (Cutter) and a crazy scientist played by David Bowie (Nikola Telsa). And like any great rivalry, they both fall for the same woman played by Scarlett Johansson (Olivia Wenscombe).  Be prepared for the beginning of the movie to be a bit complicated and confusing as a result of their use of flashbacks, flash forwards, and fash half-backs.  It seems they use this technique to try to keep the audience from figuring out a couple of twists they have weaved into the story.

The Prestige runs a little too long and is needlessly complicated by elaborate flashbacks and multiple characters, designed undoubtedly to disguise twists in the story.  With a little imagination, though, you can see them coming.  The story is nonetheless intriguing, and the insight it provides to the life and mind of magicians is interesting.  The biggest issue, though, is an issue inherent in any movie about magic.  If they don’t reveal how the big illusion was perpetrated, then we assume it’s just “movie magic” and thus the story is ruined.  If they do reveal the secret . . . well, as the movie points out, once the secret of a trick is revealed, it suddenly becomes far less impressive.  The Prestige is a nice try, but in the end, it’s just not all that impressive.

On the Movie Night Traffic Light on a scale of GREEN meaning “Go – it’s a must see”, YELLOW meaning “Caution – it’s okay” and RED meaning “No - stop don’t do it."

We rate The Prestige YELLOW.  Caution – magicians will like this one, but others may find it too confusing and long.