Premise: In turn-of-the-century London, two aspiring magicians named Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) begin their careers working for a seasoned magician in a tired, washout venue. While Angier is happy working the predictable acts, Borden feels held back and wants to push the envelope of what can be done on stage. Borden mocks AlgeDuring one of these risks, Borden’s mistake costs Angier his wife, whose drowning pushes Angier over the edge and forces Angier and Borden in a progressively more deadly and competetive relationship.
When Borden comes up with a seemingly impossible trick called the “Teleporting Man”, Angier becomes obsessed with the trick and goes to the most exteme lengths to learn his secrets.
Analysis: I liked this movie! I have to admit, after the movie ended, it took me a solid hour just to completely wrap my mind around the complexity of the ending. What appears to be a straightforward story of love, betrayal, murder and deceit, quickly turns into sometime even more morbid and amusing in the last 15 minutes.
This movie was a TAD slow in the middle parts, especially all the build-up to having Angier’s machine made in Colorado Springs. Though a bit slow-moving in the middle, the beginning and end parts offer the excitement and riveting drama that makes this a very decent movie 
Plus it doesn’t hurt that both Bale and Jackman do a stellar job portraying their parts, plus I just like them both as actors.
Best Quote(s):
Alfred Borden: You went half way around the world… you spent a fortune… you did terrible things… really terrible things Robert, and all for nothing.
Robert Angier: For nothing?
Alfred Borden: Yeah
Robert Angier: You never understood, why we did this. The audience knows the truth: the world is simple. It’s miserable, solid all the way through. But if you could fool them, even for a second, then you can make them wonder, and then you… then you got to see something really special… you really don’t know?… it was… it was the look on their faces…
—
Cutter: Every great 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 if 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”.”
Official Trailer:
IMDB Website: Click here
My Netflix Rating: 4 stars out of 5
