[Movie] The Prestige

Man I thought there was a thread for this but I couldn't find it? Anyway just saw the movie and loved it. Bale and Jackman work great together, and it's even better with Nolan directing. The film was pretty heavy on revenge and a lot of things happened I didn't expect. It played well on how far a man will go to get revenge and seeing another side of him because of that. I suggest anyone go see this movie, it even has a few plot twists that you will enjoy. :biggrin:

Jam it back in, in the dark.

This movie will rock for sure since Bale and Jackman will duke out on magic

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Nolan, eh? That guy doesn't seem to suck so far, so maybe I'll Netflix this one day.

How ya doing, buddy?

Hmmm.... I was planning to go this past week, but with exams and all that didn't happen. But I definitely have to go see it soon. Although, I might have a problem watching some of the same actors play together as from Batman Begins.

Nolan sure loves certain actors.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

The film was hokey, but not a bad run. I'm rather surprised (and pleased) that Nolan was able to draw out 3-dimensional characters this time around, and the twists are engaging.

It's way ahead of Flags of our Fathers (Paul Haggis' heavy handed writing prevents Eastwood's personality from shining through), but does not hold a candle to Coppola's Marie Antoinette.

I was speaking idiomatically.

This was definitely a very entertaining movie, although pretty predictable as well.

Spoiler:

I was really hoping that Bale's character would turn out to be a "wizard." I mean, they already had the sci-fi/fantasy element with the cloning machine, so why not have someone actually be able to perform real magic?

I would definitely watch this film again, though. The characters are strong and the story is well thought out.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

This film blew me the fuck away. It's structured like a magic trick. Like a magic trick, you don't exactly know what the twist ending is, but there are numerous clues as to what it could be.

Spoiler:

Is Bale's twin actually a twin brother or was he cloned by Tesla?

Overall, I rank it tied for first with The Departed for film of the year. I'm looking forward to checking out Marie Antoinette at some point soon too.

FELIPE NO

I just got back from watching this, and a lot of the people were complaining that it was boring. I thought it was very detailed, not boring at all (but given the attention spans of people these days...). It feels like they followed the original book closely -- which I have not read, so I don't know for a fact. The plot twists were very well crafted, and there were plenty of them. Maybe it was a tad long, but whatever. It was worth the $8.50 I paid.

All I know is Bale + Jackman + Caine = .

Oh, but my favorite part was

Spoiler:

David Fuckin' Bowie as Tesla!!!!!

!!

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Great ensembles cast of Batman VS Wolverine and Jack Carter

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I just watched the trailer for this and it looks damn cool! I am gonna go see this at the cinema I think, I just hope it isnt like Hell or whatever that was called. I like the premise behind the film, that there are 2 magicians and one is apparantley using real magic, and I like all of the old traditional stage tricks they used to perform, so this looks like an emjoyable film for me ^^

Looking forward to a UK release.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by sprouticus

Spoiler:

Is Bale's twin actually a twin brother or was he cloned by Tesla?

That's what I'm guessing.

Spoiler:

I'm thinking that Borden was so poor starting off cause he saved up all his cash to get Tesla to make him a clone. I'm assuming it based off a few things, but primarily when he talks to Angier's double about doubles having control. In Borden's case, his double is actually him, so he doesn't have to worry as much about betrayal as they're the same person, united in the same goal. That's also where Angier's character has turned evil in that he kills all his clones.

Telsa is definitely the real magician of the flick.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Spoiler:

How could Bale have a clone? Tesla had no idea what the machine was doing until Jackman's character stumbled upon the hats and cats and that came long after Bale started his transfered man trick. It was his twin.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Spoiler:

I don't think that Bale would've had the emotional attachment he does towards the other him if it was just a clone.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Dr. Uzuki

Spoiler:

How could Bale have a clone? Tesla had no idea what the machine was doing until Jackman's character stumbled upon the hats and cats and that came long after Bale started his transfered man trick. It was his twin.

Spoiler:

Then why was the secret key word to Borden's diary TESLA? That, combined with the speech about the double hinted at the idea that Borden had a clone. The difference was that he was more human in that he cared about the well being of his clone unlike Angier. His emotional attachment was what made him the hero and ultimately the better magician. The process that Tesla performed for Borden could've been different. Tesla seemed to know exactly what Angier was looking for when he approached him. He might've just had some kinks to work out with building a new machine. Remember he said that "exact science is not really exact" or something to that effect. He was creating an electric cloning machine at the end of the 19th century!!! You'd expect it to have some unpredictable results as well as moral conflict.

Has anybody read the book? Perhaps it's more clear about the issue.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Spoiler:

Well, what I got from it was that he made his keyword Tesla because the notebook was a setup and he was deliberately sending him halfway around the world on a wild goose chase. After he came to the end of the writings and discovered it was a trick, he confronted the assistant and they had a back and forth to the effect, "You lead me to believe you built a machine for him," to which the assistant responded that they never said exactly that.

It's in no way definitely said either way, but thinking back, the whole movie gears clues towards Bale's character being two people as early as before the drowning accident of Jackman's wife.

FELIPE NO

Spoiler:

It's pretty obvious it's a brother. Hence the ability Borden had to see the old Chinese guy's "trick" so easily while Angier had trouble. He LIVED the lie, just like the old man did. It was the greatest illusion they could do. The diaries they pretty much ended up exchanging were pretty much purposefully done to fuck with one another. Hence addressing the reader personally at the end, like a "Gotcha, bitch!"

Also, the movie is fucking awesome. Period.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Spoiler:

Or he might just have been inspired by the old Chinese guy to make a double for himself, and live as the same person. Also, why would he send Angier halfway around the world to Tesla, only to find out that he acutally had a way to create doubles for himself? The key to his notebook could've just as easily been Lima, and he could've sent him to Peru or some other random ass place to find nothing and throw him off. I don't think that sending him to Tesla (and the fact that Tesla didn't even have to ask specifically why he was there) and then Tesla happening to actually be able to create a cloning machine was a lucky coincidence. The only clue that blatently references the idea that it was his brother was when Borden does the trick where he makes the bird disappear and the little kid starts crying. He makes a bird re-appear, but the kid still cries, "but where's his brother?"

Either way, it's got me excited to watch it again and try to break it down a little further.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by MetheGelfling

Spoiler:

Or he might just have been inspired by the old Chinese guy to make a double for himself, and live as the same person. Also, why would he send Angier halfway around the world to Tesla, only to find out that he acutally had a way to create doubles for himself? The key to his notebook could've just as easily been Lima, and he could've sent him to Peru or some other random ass place to find nothing and throw him off. I don't think that sending him to Tesla (and the fact that Tesla didn't even have to ask specifically why he was there) and then Tesla happening to actually be able to create a cloning machine was a lucky coincidence. The only clue that blatently references the idea that it was his brother was when Borden does the trick where he makes the bird disappear and the little kid starts crying. He makes a bird re-appear, but the kid still cries, "but where's his brother?"

Either way, it's got me excited to watch it again and try to break it down a little further.

Spoiler:

But what about when Angier was given a demostration for Tesla's machine, and they had no idea what had happened. More misdirection or did they not know how the machine was behaving?

Also, did anyone notice how in the advertisements for the Prestige they presented Bale's character as the bad guy, while Jackman's was the good guy? This movie was set up on misdirection from the beginning.

I really enjoyed this movie. One of, if not my favorite I have seen this year. It was well done, with some fantastic acting, good writing and good use of misdirection. I want to see it again.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Spoiler:

The previews made it seem, at least to me, that it was Bale's character who was suggested was performing "real magic" when in the end all he had was a very well-protected trick. I definitely agree the movie was all about misdirection even as far as the previews, and I thought that that was a really cool part of it.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Great film. Loved it.

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Originally Posted by guyinrubbersuit

Spoiler:

But what about when Angier was given a demostration for Tesla's machine, and they had no idea what had happened. More misdirection or did they not know how the machine was behaving?

I really enjoyed this movie. One of, if not my favorite I have seen this year. It was well done, with some fantastic acting, good writing and good use of misdirection. I want to see it again.

Spoiler:

From what I gathered, Telsa and his accomplice knew what the machine would do, at least roughly, which was to create duplicates. I thought that they were expecting the duplicate to appear close by; and this was why they said that it was not an exact science, when they found out the duplicates were way outside. Just because they didn't know why the machine wasn't behaving the way they expected doesn't mean that they had never built the machine before.
It seems apparent, from when Jackman's character approaches Tesla, that Tesla knew exactly what machine was being talked about, and exactly what it was it was intended to do. It doesn't seem like coincidence at all.
With that in mind, I don't think it was obvious at all that Bale's character had a twin brother, as Jessykins said.

Also, for the person who talked about Angier having a lack of compassion for his clones, or whatever, I don't think that really was the case. I think he fully viewed it as killing himself, not other clones, which he wouldn't have to care about. But of course, he didn't mind either, since Cain's character had told him that the sailor felt "like he was going home" when he was drowning; and in addition, he was consumed with his anger and spite towards Bale's character.

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Originally Posted by uacoop

Spoiler:

From what I gathered, Telsa and his accomplice knew what the machine would do, at least roughly, which was to create duplicates. I thought that they were expecting the duplicate to appear close by; and this was why they said that it was not an exact science, when they found out the duplicates were way outside. Just because they didn't know why the machine wasn't behaving the way they expected doesn't mean that they had never built the machine before.
It seems apparent, from when Jackman's character approaches Tesla, that Tesla knew exactly what machine was being talked about, and exactly what it was it was intended to do. It doesn't seem like coincidence at all.
With that in mind, I don't think it was obvious at all that Bale's character had a twin brother, as Jessykins said.

Also, for the person who talked about Angier having a lack of compassion for his clones, or whatever, I don't think that really was the case. I think he fully viewed it as killing himself, not other clones, which he wouldn't have to care about. But of course, he didn't mind either, since Cain's character had told him that the sailor felt "like he was going home" when he was drowning; and in addition, he was consumed with his anger and spite towards Bale's character.

Spoiler:

What about when Tesla's assistant made a comment after they discovered all those duplicated hats in the surrounding area, stating that they didn't bother to check the hat since it didn't move. That led me to believe that Tesla knew Angier wanted a teleportation device, but it turned out to be a duplication machine. After all it's not an exact science.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by uacoop

Spoiler:

Also, for the person who talked about Angier having a lack of compassion for his clones, or whatever, I don't think that really was the case. I think he fully viewed it as killing himself, not other clones, which he wouldn't have to care about. But of course, he didn't mind either, since Cain's character had told him that the sailor felt "like he was going home" when he was drowning; and in addition, he was consumed with his anger and spite towards Bale's character.

Spoiler:

Yeah, that's true. I think I was basing that assumption off of Borden's statement of something to the effect of "You did terrible things" in reference to killing the clones. But yeah, I can see where you're coming from. Also, he might have been drowning them as a twisted means of self torture since that was how his wife died.

Damn this movie just rocks my face off. I've gotta go see it again soon.

FELIPE NO

Spoiler:

Also remember that there's a certain amount of ambiguity about whether or not the clone was the one transferred or if he was the one that remained in place. By the end of the movie, Jackman's character was most likely already a copy of a copy of a copy, the original long since dead.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I just wrote a little review about it here and think it's astonishing too see all those great actors together in one picture. Especially Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale. Had no idea how hard it can be in being a magician...

Jam it back in, in the dark.