Plus one of Jackman’s early conceits revealed what a good actor he can be, and we forget because of the body. He actually manages to seem like a different person and almost change the structure of his face in one early scene w

| Jan 2, 2025

Nolan constructs a fascinating tale that twists and turns at every opportunity, although there is perhaps one twist too many in a slightly overbaked dénouement.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 22, 2024

Nolan looks at how obsession can drive you beyond your limit and destroy everything, even when the simple answer is right in front of you. In the process, he … intentionally crafts an allegory of filmmaking itself.

| Oct 17, 2023

In terms of building narratives on top of narratives, this one really cemented Nolan as one of cinema’s most cerebral storytellers.

| Jul 20, 2023

The Prestige is a thrilling film but it requires multiple viewings to better understand the narrative.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jul 17, 2023

Appearances aside, this is not a story of stage magic. It is a thriller of obsession built on the dramatic fulcrum of driving vengeance...

| Jan 7, 2023

Yes, it’s about two rival magicians duking it out in an escalating game of one-upmanship. But like every Nolan picture there is so much more simmering under the surface both intellectually and creatively.

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Aug 17, 2022

Some may struggle with its story-within-a-story-within-a- story and non-linear structure, but the payoff is well worth the head-scratching.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Aug 16, 2021

Just when viewers think they've figured things out, that's when the exquisite diversionary tactics really kick in.

| Original Score: 8/10 | Nov 21, 2020

A leap back to his stellar Memento form, Christopher Nolan's fifth feature is an incisive work about the nature of creative obsession. The film bursts forth fully formed, richly detailed, and with a keen eye toward Nolan's usual brushstrokes

| Sep 1, 2020

The Prestige's magic is real. You just have to be looking for it.

| Jul 2, 2020

The Prestige does not impress as a magic act. It is an elaborate contraption that leaves the viewer confounded and confused, but never feeling particularly entertained or delighted by the performance.

| Feb 28, 2020

The Prestige does require a slight leap of faith, but the journey is so entertaining, it is a leap well worth taking.

| Nov 20, 2019

When you discover the secret to a magic trick, all you want is to re-watch it and see if you can spot the illusion, so too does The Prestige demand repeat viewings.

| Jun 20, 2019

Nolan's most perfect commentary on his favourite auteur theme of mise en abyme, as both magicians in their own ways make near Faustian pacts for their climactic 'prestige'.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 10, 2018

Although the film's stunning reveals make the audience realise it has been duped... there is a protagonist to empathise with each time.

| Nov 2, 2018

While you're looking here, it's executing a trick there, and the film is, in fact, structured like a magic act with three parts called the Pledge, the Turn and the Prestige.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Nov 2, 2018

Yes, the film is built on deceptions, and yes, it features a series of interconnected twists, but like all good movies and magic tricks, it doesn't lose any glory in a repeated performance or viewing, only gains it.

| Nov 2, 2018

Nolan has conjured a bold mix of thriller and period piece, with even a precocious dab of science fiction.

| Nov 2, 2018

Until an inexplicably awful revelation at the end, The Prestige is a taut, exciting portrait of obsession and the dark competitive spirit of professional magicians.

| Original Score: 63/100 | Sep 19, 2009