While it wasn’t a Wolverine and Batman mashup, The Prestige remains one of Christopher Nolan’s best movies, and it also happens to be one of his most overlooked as well. Hot on the heels of the successful Batman Begins, Nolan was able to re-team with Christian Bale and pair him with Hugh Jackman. The result was a magical combination that served up strong performances from both actors and a compelling narrative that almost requires multiple viewings in order to order to soak in all of the details. Based on the 1995 novel of the same name, The Prestige is a masterpiece that proved that Nolan was well on his way to becoming one of the best directors in recent memory.
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If you’re familiar with Nolan’s entire filmography, then you know that he has always had a fascination with time. In nearly every one of his films, he experiments with how his story is structured and how it is affected by time and The Prestige is no different. Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman star as a pair of feuding magicians who become embroiled in a years-long battle over a logic-defying teleportation illusion. Not only does the illusion become a contest between the two men, it becomes an obsession that threatens to consume them. As you can guess, the exploration of the perception of time is vital to the entire story.
Now You See Me
At the center of The Prestige, through all of the fancy smoke and mirrors, is a real basic and tragic human story. The theme of jealousy runs rampant in The Prestige. Hugh Jackman plays Robert “The Great Danton” Angier, a highly-skilled performer who is more focused on fine-tuning his ability as the ultimate showman rather than honing his craft as a magician. Not to be outdone, Christian Bale stars as Alfred “The Professor” Borden, Angier’s bitter rival. Borden is something of a natural magician. He is less concerned about the showmanship of an entertaining show and more focused on perfecting his craft.
Despite their differences, the two magicians each have the same goal in mind. They each want to best the other. Being good is just not good enough for either of them. When Borden showcases his amazing trick called “The Transported Man,” he confounds Algier. Borden has seemingly found a way to make himself teleport. Desperate to outdo his fierce rival, Algier takes the trick and makes it his own. But is he really able to duplicate the same trick? Or does it lead back to just smoke and mirrors? And this is where Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale thrive. This competition between two overzealous and complicated men.
As of January 2025, The Prestige still remains the only film that Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale have appeared in together. And it’s a shame because they play beautifully off each other. While Hugh Jackman adds multiple layers of charm and pizzazz to his role as Angier, Christian Bale takes Borden in the opposite direction. Borden isn’t as showy as his rival is, but there is a level of mystique and intelligence to the character that makes it hard to look away. Each actor plays their part so convincingly well that it is hard to decide who you want to root for.
Now You Don’t
Even if you have already seen The Prestige, it would still be completely understandable if you forgot just how many twists and turns are jam-packed into this film. But it would still be a disservice to attempt to spoil anything. At the beginning of the film, Cutter, Angier’s trusted mentor played by the great Michael Caine, explains the basic principles of a magic trick. He explains that every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts.
The first part is called “The Pledge.” This is where the magician shows the audience something ordinary, whether it’s an assistant or something as simple as a deck of cards. The second act is called “The Turn.” The magician takes that ordinary object and makes it do something “extraordinary,” such as making that object vanish, and wows the audience. However, there has to be a third part. This critical part is called “The Prestige.” This is when the magician has to bring that object back. As the title of the film suggests, this aspect of the trick is where the central conflict of The Prestige lies. If you have 130 minutes to spare, The Prestige is well worth the watch. If not for the compelling story then at least for the Hugh Jackman match up against Christian Bale.
The Prestige is available to rent on Amazon Prime and Apple TV.
