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THE PRESTIGE

"Revenge Is a Dish Best Served with Smoke and Mirrors"

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What You Need To Know:

THE PRESTIGE is an intense story of two young, rival stage magicians. In turn-of-the-century London, two magicians, Angier (played by Hugh Jackman) and Borden (played by Christian Bale), ply their trade in different ways. Angier is the flashy, sophisticated showman, and Borden is the nuts-and-bolts magician who loves magic and illusion, not flashy shows. When one of Borden’s mistakes during a water illusion causes the drowning death of Angier’s wife, the two men become bitter enemies. Soon, they are no longer interested in illusions for an audience. They are now interested in humiliating each other, destroying one another’s professional careers and stealing each other’s trade secrets. Things come to a head, and the two men face off in a slight-of-hand, deceitful climax filled with exciting twists and turns.

THE PRESTIGE is a taut thriller. It features outstanding performances from Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale and, not surprisingly, Michael Caine. THE PRESTIGE contains elements of extreme caution, however. The entire plot revolves around revenge and deceit as the two men fight to get even with one another and stealing trade secrets. These elements are opposite the biblical notion of forgiving your enemies.

Content:

(PaPa, H, Ro, L, VVV, S, N, AA, MMM) Strong pagan worldview with humanist elements as two magicians lie, steal and seek revenge on one another in a dangerous game of one-up-manship, some light elements of Romanticism as one female character is driven by her emotions rather than morals and reason; very few light obscenities such as several exclamations of the British curse, “bloody!”; heavy violence and disturbing imagery includes man stepping into an electrical charge several times, several instances of men drowning depicted and one woman drowning depicted, man kills a bird depicted, man shot in hand, bloody images of shot fingers, man falls and breaks his leg, man is shot in the arm, woman commits suicide by hanging herself, several men are shot in the chest, and a man chops other fingers; light sexual content includes several shots of married couple kissing, implied adulterous affair between a magician and his mistress, and adulterous kissing depicted; several instances of naturalistic upper male nudity and several shots of female cleavage; light alcohol use such as beer and champagne depicted in a few scenes, and one character is a drunkard, which is depicted in a comical fashion; no smoking or drug use; and very strong miscellaneous immorality includes the entire plot revolving around revenge and deceit.

More Detail:

THE PRESTIGE is an intense and thrilling story of two young, rival magicians (Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale), whose professional game of one-ups-manship turns into a violent duel filled with revenge, deceit and deadly consequences.

A magician’s illusion consists of three acts: the Pledge, the Turn and the Prestige. In the Pledge, the magician presents the audience with an ordinary item, such as a bird in a cage on a table which he then covers with a handkerchief. In the Turn, the magician does something “magical” before the audience’s eyes, such as slamming the handkerchief flat and making the bird and the cage disappear from the table. However, making something disappear leaves the audience feeling incomplete and wanting more. That is where the Prestige occurs. The magician doesn’t make the bird and cage reappear on the table. Instead, he pulls the bird out from behind an audience member’s ear. The unexpected, the secret that “wows” the audience that is where a magician finds his Prestige.

In turn-of-the-century London, two young magicians, Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Borden (Christian Bale), ply their trades in various ways, both with varying results. Angier is the flashy, sophisticated showman who understands that audience members want to have more than a night of illusion. They want an entertaining show filled with wonder and amazement. Borden, on the other hand, is the nuts-and-bolts magician who loves magic and illusion, not flashy shows.

When one of Borden’s mistakes during a water illusion causes the drowning death of Angier’s wife, the two men become bitter enemies. Soon, the men are no longer interested in illusions for an audience. They are now interested in humiliating each other, destroying one another’s professional careers and stealing each other’s trade secrets.

Their rivalry comes to a head when Borden introduces his greatest illusion, The Transporting Man, a trick where Borden enters a doorway on one side of the stage and then exits through another door on the other side of the stage. Angier becomes obsessed with finding the secret to this illusion. Eventually, his obsession builds to a deadly rivalry that finds the two men facing off in a slight-of-hand, deceitful climax filled with twists, turns, and. . . The Prestige.

Well-written, well-directed and containing outstanding performances from Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale and, not surprisingly, Michael Caine, THE PRESTIGE is a taut thriller filled with exciting twists and turns. The movie and the script contain some slight-of-hand and smoke and mirrors that provide wonderful foreshadowing that keeps an audience member engaged until the final curtain falls and the Prestige is revealed. As far as the quality of the production, the movie is top-notch.

As far as media-wise acceptability, however, this movie contains elements of extreme caution. The entire plot revolves around revenge and deceit as the two men fight to get even with each other and to steal each other’s professional secret. These elements are opposite the biblical notion of forgiving your enemies and loving those who wrongfully use you.

The other cautionary elements involve an adulterous affair that one of the men has with his mistress as well as some heavy violence and disturbing imagery. Older audiences may enjoy this movie for its story, quality and thrilling twists, but MOVIEGUIDE® advises extreme caution for children and teenagers.

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.


Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.