70
The result is a lopsided yet absorbing movie in which the director is less drawn to his main characters than to those on the periphery.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
80
The New York Times by A.O. Scott
Stuffed with hard-working actors, sleek effects and stagy period details, The Prestige, directed by Christopher Nolan from a script he wrote with his brother Jonathan, is an intricate and elaborate machine designed for the simple purpose of diversion.
80
Washington Post by Ann Hornaday
Bale and Jackman inject their reliable charisma into two otherwise very cold fish. Okay, I'll say it: If you see only one magic-at-the-turn-of-the-century movie this year, make it this one.
40
Clearly, director Nolan is aiming for something else. But the delight in sheer gamesmanship that marked his breakout "Memento" doesn't survive this project's gimmickry and aspirations toward "Les Miserables"-style epic passion.
80
Los Angeles Times by Kenneth Turan
The Prestige does more than focus on magicians. It is so in love with the romance, wonder and ability to fool of stage illusion that it becomes something of a magic trick in and of itself
50
The Hollywood Reporter by Kirk Honeycutt
Audiences might enjoy this cinematic sleight of hand, but the key characters are such single-minded, calculating individuals that the real magic would be to find any heart in this tale.
63
Chicago Tribune by Michael Phillips
Many, I suspect, will fall for The Prestige and its blend of one-upsmanship and science fiction. I prefer "The Illusionist," the movie that got here first.
83
Entertainment Weekly by Owen Gleiberman
The Prestige isn't art, but it reaps a lot of fun out of the question, How did they do that?
58
Seattle Post-Intelligencer by Paula Nechak
If you can forgive some woeful casting and a plot that is as creakingly thin as an old staircase, you can enjoy director Christopher Nolan's The Prestige.
75
Christian Science Monitor by Peter Rainer
Has its moments.
One of the most mind-bending films I've ever seen. I confess I still don't know exactly what happens in it, but leave it to Christopher Nolan to turn a movie about hack magicians into a suffocatingly-tense thriller about rivalry and obsession. Bale and Jackman give outstanding performances as usual, and the grimy yet glamorous setting of high society London is superbly-realized.