This is a movie about two men who are proffesional magicians. Their stock and trade are illusions and misdirection.Their goal is to shock, awe and mostly entertain theater audiences. Well it seems there was a bit more drama behind the curtain than even their tricks hinted at.

There seems to be a Mantra or repeating phrase/sequence of phrases that encompases the movie. It is an explanation of every magic trick. Roughly paraphrased it goes: ‘There are three parts of a magic trick. The first is the “Pledge” This is where the magician shows the audience something ordinary but which is most likely not ordinary at all. The second part of the act is the “Promise” where something extrodinary happens, but it happens so fast you wouldn’t clap or laugh. That is why there is the third act called the “Prestige.” This is where the magician reaches beyond the magical and brings things back. It isn’t enough to make something dissapear… you’ve got to bring it back…’

Well the movie starts out as ordinarily as possible for two starting magicians who look to make the best tricks. Except something tragic happens and sets them against each other fighting for the best performance or trick to woo audiences and earn the reputation as the greatest magician of London. Still fairly ordinary except there is something hidden throughout all of this and the rivalry is brutal.

Throughout the movie we see the promise of the vendetta of these two illusionists flourish in their race for the best trick. They even resort to spying on each other to figure out what the other is doing and why. Yet even this is not enough. One of the magicians “the Great Danton” repeats the phrase “No one cares about the man in the box…” refering to the person who “disappears” in the magic trick. Danton was certain the audience only cared about what was shown to them. And indeed for the audience that does seem to be what they care about. However he misses the greater point that the audience’s approval or even attention doesn’t diminish the importance of even the “man in the box.”

The final part of the movie “the Prestige” where everything is brought back and the most of the holes are filled in I leave to you to judge. As a whole the movie was fairly predictable and a little slow paced, however it kept my attention by the drama and some of the tricks. As a warning there are rather dark imagry and even death spread through parts of the film. It is a dark film of two men so wrapped up in their own ego they can’t see the truth.

There is a good reason why the Devil is called the “Lord of Illusion” and it is not because he is good at having fun. Rather it is because he specializes in misdirection and promises of things that arn’t real. If you only hold onto the trick and care nothing for the reality of life or returning to life then you will find yourself either dying and decaying inside, drowning in self pity, or filled with the anxiety of slipping just barely out of the grasp of some great horror.

Sacrifice is also talked about in this movie and toward the end one of the characters makes a great sacrifice. He dies, but for the reason to make other lives better. The bible says that it is not easy to suffer for someone else. But for someone who is good especially friends we may be willing to suffer perhaps given the extreme circumstance to die for them. However how great was the sacrifice of Jesus that while we were still scum/sinners He died for us. He suffered so that we could be better. He lived and died so that we may die to self and live in Him. (a Christianeze phrase meaning that we can give up our own selfishness and open our eyes to the wonders around us that are filled with great things God has made. We can then go through life and see things in a whole new light. Everything is better because you have the Holy Spirit in you then!)

On the whole the Prestige is a good borrow and a thought provoking movie. If you do see it ask yourself what each character thinks about sacrifice and what is worth dedicating your life to and where does beign a work-a-holic turn into obsession.