As a fan of Christopher Nolan's work on Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, I thought I would enjoy The Prestige as well. I was wrong. The good news is I just caught the film on Encore, so the only thing I wasted was my time.
I do not fault Mr. Nolan or any of the actors (save a lacking performance by Scarlett Johansson). The real problem here is the story. Without going into detail let me just say that the movie started with an interesting premise and devolved into a "I'm better than you" farce between the two main characters. I sat there in disbelief as Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman (both of whom I admire) were forced to lower themselves into a story like this. One of them wrongs the other somehow, and the other then returns the favor. This is Bale's most unfortunate film role choice since Reign of Fire.
Now don't get me wrong...as I said I do not fault the actors. Bale and Jackman performed as well as they could under the circumstances. However, since the story itself lost my interest, even the greatest actors in the world could not save it.
I do not fault Mr. Nolan or any of the actors (save a lacking performance by Scarlett Johansson). The real problem here is the story. Without going into detail let me just say that the movie started with an interesting premise and devolved into a "I'm better than you" farce between the two main characters. I sat there in disbelief as Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman (both of whom I admire) were forced to lower themselves into a story like this. One of them wrongs the other somehow, and the other then returns the favor. This is Bale's most unfortunate film role choice since Reign of Fire.
Now don't get me wrong...as I said I do not fault the actors. Bale and Jackman performed as well as they could under the circumstances. However, since the story itself lost my interest, even the greatest actors in the world could not save it.