I first watched ‘The Prestige’ about a year ago only knowing that Christopher Nolan (my favourite director) had directed it, and it stars Christian Bale (my favourite actor) so I was automatically interested in it for those two reasons only, and on first viewing I thought it was a great film, but I thought it was also Nolan’s weakest, and now fresh off a second viewing, I can tell you now, it is one of the best films I have seen, even knowing the twist ending I felt on the edge of my seat during every moment this film had to offer, which brings me to my favourite part of the film, the suspense, and by suspense I don’t just mean you will be on the edge of your seat saying “oh my god, I wonder if he is going to shoot him” it’s more like “oh my god, I hope this illusion doesn’t go wrong”. Nolan does an excellent job of directing suspense for a magic trick, and a lot of that suspense comes from David Julyan’s score, the score starts to build up, then silence when the trick is happening, and whether the trick is successful or not the score comes back with great power.

​

Now I couldn’t talk about this film without the acting, Christian Bale gives an ace performance, but that’s not a surprise, Hugh Jackman gives his best acting role in my opinion, bringing a perfect mix of sanity and insanity to his character, Michael Caine… do I need to say anything else, Michael Caine always gives an amazing performance, and Scarlett Johansson giving her best performance as well, pulling off a realistic British accent, surprisingly. Another one of my favourite parts of the film is that as it is basically a rivalry film, you end up choosing who’s side you are on, either Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) or Robert Angler (Hugh Jackman), and this ‘pick a side’ thing actually creates even more suspense as you don’t your favourite to get harmed.

​

It is so intense to see what these magicians will do to out-do each other, trying to take risks with different tricks, and each of them trying to sabotage their show, you end up really getting gripped to the story of the film and cannot take your eyes off the screen, and a nice little touch for this film is that it is set in the Victorian era of England, so all of the risks and dangers seem more intense as no-one can pull out their mobile phone and call an ambulance when someone is injured during a magic trick.

​

Extremely well made film with brilliant set design, score, acting and a jaw-dropping twist, easily one of the best films of our generation and is a must watch for anyone.