Rated PG-13 for violence and disturbing images.
Directed by Christopher Nolan (Batman Begins & Memento)
Staring Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson and David Bowie
Nolan delivers again.
“Every magic trick consists of three parts, or acts. The first part is called “the pledge.” The magician shows you something ordinary. A deck of cards, a bird or a man. He shows you this object. Perhaps he asks you to inspect it, to see that it is indeed real, unaltered, normal. But, of course, it probably isn't.
The second act is called “the turn.” The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary. Now you're looking for the secret, but you won't find it, because, of course, you're not really looking. You don't really want to know. You want to be… fooled.
But you wouldn't clap yet, because making something disappear isn't enough. You have to bring it back. That's why every magic trick has a third act. The hardest part. The part we call……’the prestige’.”
You know that feeling when you see a really good magician (and I’m not talking about your creepy uncle and his lame quarter-behind-the-ear trick) you know that’ “Wow, how’d he do that” moment? Well “the Prestige” is a lot like that.
Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) are the two young magicians on the rise in turn-of-the-century London. After the tragic death of Angier’s wife, he holds a grudge against Borden for an unforgivable mistake and the two part ways. Their once close friendship disintegrates into a bitter rivalry and their separate obsessions to become the world’s greatest magician turn deadly.
TODD’S WORD: I loved it… from the opening scene where all you see is a pile of top hats and you hear someone whisper, “Are you watching closely?” to the fade to black and roll credits, I was hooked. I sat watching trying to figure out what was coming next, how did they “get” me, and wondering what I missed.
JONATHAN’S WORD: Similarly, I loved it at the beginning. But as the film turned darker, I enjoyed the film less.
Sure, it was a great piece of art. Critics everywhere are ranting about it. But I’ll be honest: I like a “hero” in a film. I want to root for someone with character. The heroes in this film let me down again and again.
TODD’S WORD: Yeah, it definitely wasn’tHappy Feet…
JONATHAN’S WORD: The penguin film?
TODD’S WORD: (sigh)… It wasn’t an uppity little comedy!
JONATHAN’S WORD: Oh… okay.
TODD’S WORD: …. but with a director like Christopher Nolan, and actors like Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman and Scarlett Johansson, the movie could have been about paint drying and it would have been good.
JONATHAN’S WORD: Magnolia.
TODD’S WORD:Huh?
JONATHAN’S WORD: You insinuated that if you have all kinds of good actors and a good director it had to be good. That’s Magnolia. And the film was as boring as an insurance convention.
TODD’S WORD: May I continue?
JONATHAN: Please.
TODD’S WORD: But I THINK that this movie has it all; a great story, superb direction, a stellar cast, beautiful costumes, and cinematography and effects that are amazing. The result is a fantastic movie that you will want to watch at least one more time.
JONATHAN’S WORD: Joking aside, Todd is right. (even though Magnolia did actually stink, despite it’s strong cast and direction! I would rather watch flies eat corn!) It really is a well done film. It did hold me until the end.
I probably would have given it a better score, but it just didn’t make me feel warm and fuzzy enough. Hold me Todd!
TODD’S WORD: Oh brother.
Well, if you haven’t seen it yet….watch it…but watch closely.
SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
With several scenes showing a person drowning and a few other scenes of quick but brutal violence, it would be best to keep the little ones away. It has a PG-13 rating and is fairly clean (no sex or foul language) so most teens should be o.k.
Conversation Starter
Three Simple Questions (with Answers You May Be Looking for):
- What are some of the messages or themes you observed in this movie?
- How do you suppose we—as serious Christ-followers—should react to this movie?
- How can we move from healthy, Bible-based opinions about this movie to actually living out those opinions?
