Finally got to screen this great movie and had an argument with my bro' over which was the bad guy. So help me out here ... which of the magicians' was worse (more evil or dastardly) and why?
My pick is Christian Bale. The guy committed murder in the beginning with the knot and he didn't feel sorry about it. But Hugh was pretty evil... killing himself over and over.
Wasn't that accidental though? Spoiler ...because didn't "the victim" appear to comply with trying the more dangerous knot when they exchanged glances? ... I thought he was sorry, but he just didn't know or couldn't explain which knot was tied (we find out later why). I picked the Jackman character as more evil. Spoiler Due to repeated acts of pre-meditated murder or attempted murder. Plus, when he was drowning in the box, Bale tried to save him - despite their rivalry, despite that Jackman had tried to kill him before. But, when the roles are reversed, Jackman lets Bale hang when he could have saved him
Don't click if you haven't seen the movie. Spoiler Which Christian Bale? The one that shot Jackman at the end didn't show any remorse for screwing up the knot. Both of the Bales treated their loved ones like crap. But that pales in comparison to Jackman, who did everything to best Bale. He killed himself time after time, and he condemned Bale to death without any consideration of finally figuring out the secret to Bale's trick. Bale might have been the cold blooded murderer, but it was Jackman who drove him to murder. Jackman was rich. He didn't need to be the best magician. He did all of this because he wanted to.
Bale only crosses the line Spoiler into killing once - when he kills Jackman. But to me, at that point it felt more like justice than murder ... cuz Jackman had it coming by then. I think even Caine was disgusted with him too at the end. I thought it was awesome how the movie developed like the 3 parts of a magic act that they described (the pledge, the turn, the prestige). Everything was kept ambiguous until the end when you get the big pay off ... they reveal the trick... but on top of that framework they also reveal the true nature of each man's character (two different ways of doing the same trick ... two different approaches to life). One guy (they acted as one) sacrifices a normal life in complete devotion to his craft ... the other guy, given the same opportunity, chooses to do the same old trick - killing little yellow birds over and over again (only this time it's human beings that are dying) p.s. I love this movie. One of the most clever and thought-provoking flicks I've seen in a long time. A movie that is as much fun to analyze as it is to watch. I bow down before the Nolan bros. ... they are genius.
I think this is one of those rare and delightful movies that have no real protagonist or antagonist. Both people's motivations are clear and they act in a manner consistent with those motivations. None of the men could really be considered good, as they are all heartless killers at best. Really good and entertaining movie (even if you figure it all out early on).
The defining contrast of character (what I think it all boiled down to): Spoiler the Borden bros (Bale) were willing to sacrifice their individual sense of identity in choosing to share one life. "We both lived half a life ... but it was enough." Angiers (jackman) could not do this ... he kills his double every time because ultimately he doesn't want to share his life nor does he want to share "the prestige" with anyone else.
Spoiler I don't think the Bales treated their loved ones like crap. It only seemed like that because they showed when one brother was with the one his twin loved. That's why his wife sometimes said he meant it (when it was the brother who loved her), and other times he didn't (when it was his twin). However, if you mean they treated them like crap because they deceived them, then you are correct.
Spoiler I think Michael Caine knew their secret from the beginning or confirmed it after the Bales did their teleporting act. If they could trust Caine enough, then there was something missing when it came to their lovers. Then there's the issue where they couldn't just drop everything and switch identities like Clark Kent. I'd say they shared wives/lovers as much as they shared lives. And what about the dead Bale's daughter? She'd have questions as she gets older. Hmm, are you uncle or father? Did the Bales even try to figure that out...
Duh it was Hugh Jackman. Man, I recommended this movie to my government class and my professor keeps making fun of me because he thought it was horrible. I swear...I don't know how you CAN'T like this movie...
While Jackman's character push the limits but I thought he went crazy after the guy KILLED HIS WIFE and then OFFERED NO EXPLAINATION Bale's Character was pretty cold about the whole thing So I gave him an INSANITY Plea he became Obsessed after that Rocket River
I really thought there was no reason for the Bale twins to constantly switch between being with different lovers. They could have just been happy instead of making IMO a needless sacrifice.
Finally caught this movie last weekend. Like others have said, one thing I like is that there is no clear cut "good guy" or "bad guy," just like in real life. Probably my favorite film of the last 5 years.
I assume anybody clicking this thread already saw the movie. Put me in the there is no good guy bad guy camp. Life isn't that simple and that's what's great about this movie, they didn't try and give you one guy to root for. I think, that was actually one of the complaints of this movie from the critics who didn't like it. They would say things like there is no "redeeming qualities" in either of the characters. Why should there be? I've been wanting to watch it again, but I'm wary of buying DVDs more than ever with how quickly "special editions" come out and I felt like the Prestige and Children of Men will have better versions. I also recommend reading the book if you can. Even though you've seen the movie and know the "secrets," there's plenty of things that they changed for the movie that will make the book an interesting read.
they had to because the act involved one of them switching from assistant to magician, and the other switching to the assistant. they couldn't both take the mustache off at the same time because it would ruin the entire act.
My thoughts exactly. I guess we're a-holes since we're reading this thread, and all ... and adding SPOILER TAGS is for contributing members, or something... F*ck, men. At least don't spoil the movie for the rest of us.
The title of the thread should be a clue that plot points of the movie are going to be discussed. If you haven't seen it, why would you even be reading the thread? It isn't like this was made to discuss an upcoming movie. From now on, anytime you see a thread about a movie that is old enough that it isn't in theaters anymore and the title of the thread asks a question about the movie, you should avoid that thread if you haven't seen the movie yet. It's a little thing I like to call common sense.
