Dir: Christopher Nolan
Writ: Christopher Nolan, & Jonathan Nolan
- Hugh Jackman - Robert Angier
- Christian Bale - Alfred Borden
- Michael Caine - Cutter
- Andy Serkis - Alley
- Piper Perabo - Julia Angier
- Rebecca Hall - Sarah Borden
- Scarlett Johansson - Olivia Wenscombe
I really wanted to enjoy this film. I thought the trailer made it look intriguing, I liked the films of Nolan that I’ve already seen. And who isn’t a fan of Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman? But, something, I’m not quite sure what, felt flat and dull about this film.
The plot revolves around two magicians in London at the end of the 19th century. They start the story as friends, working in the same act, but then an accident happens and they end up bitter rivals. At first they try to ruin each other’s careers and lives, but soon both get caught up in “the ultimate trick” and try to figure out how it is done.
The plot unfolds through flashbacks and the reading of diaries, both men picking through the lives of the other. We start towards the end of the story, with Borden (Bale) in prison awaiting trial for the murder of Angier (Jackman), and at the end we return to that time for the grand finale.
All the acting is top-notch, but the story is a bit of a let down, and more than a little obvious. There are twists and turns, but all are signposted and although not everything turns out exactly as you might have thought, in most cases I could see what was going to happen. Then again I suppose that is part of the film, and for the most part the rest of the film makes up for this limitation.
What I really liked about The Prestige was the fact that there were no good guys and no bad guys, no one in a white hat to cheer on. Both rivals had their reasons for acting and the audience’s sympathies do switch from one to the other.
I did like the film, but I couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed in it.
IMDb | SSD | Slant Magazine | Me against the Keyboard
Tags:
8 Stars,
Andy Serkis,
C19th,
Christian Bale,
Christopher Priest,
diary,
flashbacks,
historical fiction,
Hugh Jackman,
Jonathan Nolan,
magic,
magicians,
Michael Caine,
Piper Perabo,
Rebecca Hall,
Scarlett Johansson,
The Prestige
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Dir: Brett Ratner
Writ: Simon Kinberg & Zak Penn
- Hugh Jackman - Logan/Wolverine
- Halle Berry - Ororo Munroe/Storm
- Ian McKellen - Eric Lensherr/Magneto
- Famke Janssen - Dr. Jean Grey/Phoenix
- Anna Paquin - Marie/Rogue
In this, the third X-Men film, there are two main plotlines. One concerns Jean Grey and her return from death in the form of the ultra powerful Dark Phoenix. The other revolves around a cure for the mutant gene, and what this will mean for the X-Men, and for mutants everywhere.
Only trouble is, this film is such a mess that neither story gets the treatment it deserves. We get a cursory look at what such a cure might mean to the likes of Rogue, after all her gift is much more of a burden than many. And then it is straight back into the fight. In the other story line we get exposition dumps and sudden information that makes no real sense in connection with earlier films.
Add to that the desire to stick in as many other mutants from the comics as can be seen on the big screen and you end up with a rubbish film. And such a disapointment after the previous two films which I really enjoyed.
Of course, it isn’t all bad. There are some elements that work; that quick glance at Rogue’s problem being one. And it all looks great, costumes, explosions, stunts. All great. But this merely serves to highlight how lacking in any sort of depth this film really is, and so makes it even worse. And then there is all that clunky dialogue, which not even Ian McKellan can make believable. Plus, plotholes.
All in all this seems more like the writers wanted to stick everything up on the big screen, to show how great the X-Men universe is, but instead managed to throw a lot of elements together and create a disapointment
IMDb | Official Site | Pah! | Samizdisandat | Random Burblings | Stainless Steel Droppings
Tags:
5 Stars,
Anna Paquin,
based on comic,
Brett Ratner,
clunky dialogue,
disappointing,
Famke Janssen,
Hallie Berry,
Hugh Jackman,
Ian McKellen,
mutants,
plotholes,
sff,
Simon Kinberg,
X-Men,
X-Men: the Last Stand,
Zak Penn
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dir. Stephen Sommers
* Hugh Jackman - Van Helsing
* Kate Beckinsale - Anna Valerious
* Richard Roxburgh - Count Vladislaus Dracula
* David Wenham - Carl
After seeing the trailer for this film for what seems like years (I’m talking to you to bloody day after tomorrow trailer that just won’t go away), I figured I knew what to expect from this film; cg axn similar to the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, a couple of monsters and hopefully a bit of fun similar to what we got from the first Mummy film. But the more I saw the trailer the less impressed I was. Went into the film without much hope for a good film.
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Tags:
3 Stars,
cgi,
crap,
David Wenham,
Hugh Jackman,
Kate Beckinsale,
monster movie,
Richard Roxburgh,
sff,
Stephen Sommers,
superheroes,
vampire hunters,
vampires,
Van Helsing
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