Apparently in 2006, people were really into magic. The Prestige, which just turned 10 last week came out at the same time as the Illusionist, with Ed Norton and Paul Giamatti. As opposed to The Illusionist however, this movie gets actually for real magical. It’s pretty nuts. Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman are rival magicians who are consumed by the desire for revenge. Also, David Bowie plays Nikola Tesla, so that’s neat. I gave it a rewatch to see how it held up, so here are my thoughts!
Cast: Christopher Nolan and Wes Anderson are two directors with the same affection for keeping the same cast around, but for some reason it works more with Anderson for me. This particular cast stars the dynamic duo of Bruce Wayne and Alfred Pennyworth themselves, Christian Bale and Michael Caine. Hugh Jackman and Scarlett Johannsson are in it as well, along with Andy Serkis in a rare live action role and of course, David Bowie. The portrayal of Bowie is the personification of the Arthur C. Clarke quote “Magic’s just science we don’t understand yet”. He builds a friggin cloning machine out of a Tesla Coil. Ostensibly this has a scientific explanation, but I’ll be damned if I know it. But I digress. Everyone kills it in this movie, especially our leading men, who manage to both pull off two separate characters. 10/10
"You can call me... Ziggy"
Story: This story is incredibly engrossing. A tale of revenge, with no clear protagonist. They both do terrible things, and the rivalry is incredible to watch blossom. The twist is surprising and fun, and there’s plenty of foreshadowing for those quick enough to spot it, or to go back and re-watch for. 10/10
"Magicians, superheroes... let's both be spacemen next, Christian"
Direction: all of the Nolan-isms are there. It’s interesting to see him with some work under his belt already, but still an up and comer. To me this is the prime of his career, when people were still telling him no. Nolan suffers a little bit from the George Lucas Effect, where he’s incredibly talented so studios give him more and more money, with less and less restrictions. So, he gets to just do whatever he wants. It’s visible in Inception and Interstellar in particular. He’s still a little green in this, but it’s still pretty good. 8/10
"My name is Christopher Nolan, and I'm addicted to squinting"
Overall: this movie just works. It’s silly when it needs to be, but also takes itself seriously. The effects are spectacular, the showmanship is there, the cast is firing on all cylinders. If you managed to miss this movie for 10 years, do yourself a favor and watch it ASAP. 9.5/10.
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