Le Prestige

4 1/2 *. A return to subtle storytelling and definitely Nolan's best film since Memento. The only thing that bothered me was the literal conclusion. If Nolan had used a more elegant solution, perhaps in the form of hints, instead of a half-hearted explanation, it would have been a perfect experience. Nevertheless, with each new film of the N+N duo, it is true that "to have the ideas of the Nolan brothers is to be filmmaking legends in the future". Anyway, the trump card is the cast, with a very good Michael Caine, the almost inhumanly charismatic David "Tesla" Bowie and above all Christian Bale – an actor of many faces and you believe all of them. When he flashes his typical foxy smile, you'd go for a beer with him right away, but in front of his sinister expression you'd rather crawl under the table :). The atmosphere is scrumptious, and the sets are a separate chapter, they deserve some special film awards. (2007-02-06)

Christopher Nolan didn't win me over as a great director with his Batman films (which were really great), but he did win me over with his perfect and well thought out masterpieces Inception and The Prestige. The film has an incredibly well thought out plot and very well done time shifts that you don’t get lost. And the director loves ambiguous endings, he's a real genius at that. The Prestige is great in every way. It has a strong premise (which is a bit like The Illusionist, but at the same time completely different), it doesn't lack action, romance and mystery, and it blew me away as a viewer - what more could I ask for? In short, I don't know what or how to write to lift the film to the heights ... so I simply applaud. (2010-11-27)

Clever. Very clever. I much admire the storytelling method used by Nolan to present us the story of two illusionists who dedicated their whole lives to magic. Hats off to him, because to stick to the storyline while various time lines layer up on each other is a work of mastership. Both Bale and Jackman, who are responsible for making the main characters so convincing, made perfect work of their roles. But if the screenplay weren’t so cleverly written, The Prestige would have commanded much less prestige :). I love it when a picture plays tricks on you, and of everything I have ever seen and probably will ever see, I admire filmmakers playing games with the viewer the highest. That’s why I forgive Nolan for the so much criticized explanatory part (and in my opinion even that is delivered gracefully). He didn’t do it for himself, but for some people in the audience. People who don’t want to see tricks, but to discover the secret behind them. (2007-02-21)

"It's not important who disappears in the box, but who appears." Obsession with anything can lead anyone to ruin, but what if the inevitable and dark outcome of your efforts is neither death nor salvation? I don't like gratuitous twists, I don't like finger-snapped endings, and I especially don't like the feeling when the creators try to cheaply outsmart me. But what if someone presents a few exhausting twists that won't tire you out and instead make you want more of them? Now I understand why it took the Nolan brothers so long to develop this screenplay, because thinking through the story (even based on a novel) to all its consequences must have taken a lot of effort. And observing the eternal feud between Borden and Angier is the pinnacle of viewer happiness. I thank the creators that the perfect line "Are you watching closely?" fortunately doesn't have an audiovisual, but rather a thoughtful foundation. If it only depended on discovering a few images, the trick couldn't work a second time, but this way everything truly depends only on the storytellers. The viewer then remains helpless, like a prisoner locked in a water reservoir. (2007-01-12)

Another tangled exhibition by Christopher Nolan, much more comprehensible than Memento and much more entertaining and original than the boring Insomnia. However, I need to ask an important question. What was it actually about? Nothing. This film is just like the tricks performed by the magicians, it has absolutely no storytelling value at its core and offers a sweet illusion that will appeal to many viewers. It is strong in terms of acting, brilliant in terms of costumes, but bloated in terms of plot and internally empty. Nevertheless, this entire trick is presented with such drive and audacity that it cannot be rejected in the end. (2007-09-09)