The Prestige

Originally posted by The Hawk
I really dont see how everybody can think The Prestige was so great when halfway thru the movie you learn how Bale does his trick. After you know that, it doesnt take a rocket scientist to figure out who the creepy silent guy is.... and knowing all of that ruins the whole movie... Is the ending supposed to be a 'surprise' ending?? lol... if you were surprised, you need to have your head examined.

in the book, Borden does not have Tesla build him a machine. I cant believe Nolan totally messed that up.

i know. everytime an ancillary character is fairly silent and looks nothing like christian bale, i think "of course! he must have used tesla's machine to duplicate himself! that man who looks totally different must be in clever makeup!" then i realize that it wasn't confirmed that tesla actually built bale a machine, and that even if he did, where did bale keep it? in his pocket?

maybe it has something to do with the fact that you READ THE BOOK.

t wat.

LOL.... what a joke. You cant be serious. Now I can see what kind of idiots it would appeal to...

So when Angier goes to Colorado Springs and asks Tesla to BUILD HIM A MACHINE LIKE HE DID FOR BORDON and that machine turns out to have a terrible side affect that CREATES CLONES. It never entered into your pea breain that Borden has a clone/double? and after figuring out that in all likelihood, he has a clone/double, its still a giant mystery of who his clone can be? I mean could possibly be the only other guy in the movie!!? The creepy mysterious guy that never says anything.... no way, couldnt be him!

Geez, how thick are you... half the people on this thread have already said it was too easy to figure out.. and thats because the story is different and the way its done ruins it.. or if youre not smart enough it would at least give you too many hints as to draw up conclusions, which basically still ruin the movie when you figure out whats what.

I actually never read the book, I merely read how that story goes AFTER watching and reading about the movie.

In the book, Borden has no connection with Tesla. ONLY Angier has a machine built for him that creates a clone, therefore he AND the reader have no clue how Borden is doing his illusion. It isnt til the end where you find out that Borden has a twin brother and they'd been living the life of the same man all that time.

Thats story is alot better than the films version which has Angier go to Tesla to figure out Borden's secret...

then i realize that it wasn't confirmed that tesla actually built bale a machine, and that even if he did, where did bale keep it? in his pocket?

You dont have to be clear on whether he actually built Borden the machine, and you definitly dont have to see it.... just knowing that Angier is asking Tesla to build him a machine like the one he built for another magician... Thats enough to suggest "Hey, maybe he built this machine for Borden and Borden has a clone now?" I mean, heck, this machine that he might have built for Borden, has a terrible side affect of creating clones and now Borden has this great illusion of teleporting.

the pocket was a reference to the apparently hidden nature of the machine. did you see the bloody size of angiers' machine? it's not as if borden had it in his apartment. i'm not sure if you noticed, but borden's clone is in the movie for a good while before he shows us the disappearing man illusion. combined with the fact that angiers and borden were attempting to trick each other the whole movie, and that tesla was originally a red herring (because the diary was a fake), it was in no way obvious that borden had a cloning machine built. especially considering tesla's seeming terror at his creation for angiers. if thought it was obvious, you have no appreciation for subtlety.

i was busy admiring the structure of themovie; i got fooled by "the turn", and focused how angiers did his trick. which, coincidentally, i figured out about halfway through the movie (what with all the "nobody cares about the man in the box", the initial drowning shot, and the clincher being the forestful of hats).

Heres the thing that bothers me...

In the movie Borden/Fallon are brothers just like the book suggests... but the fact that, in the movie, Borden sends Angiers to Tesla messes things up because when you see what Tesla does for Angiers, you start to think thats what he might have done for Borden. Then you start to figure he might have a clone, then you figure it my be Fallon because he's the obvious choice. Youre not thinking 'when did he enter the movie'.. the reading of the diaries and flash backs have Angiers going to Tesla about 10 mins into the movie asking about a machine that was built for a colleague. Even though theyre flash backs that come after things that havnt yet been shown, showing them in the beginning confuses the viewer somewhat expecially since the characters havnt been well established yet.

I dunno, maybe he was trying to confuse or make things complicated, but by doing so, it makes you start coming up with your own conclusions and at the end when you see how it really is, its somewhat disappointing. Because all though you were completely wrong, you were still right about who Fallon was. Learning that they were in fact brothers (which they dont bother to mention) isnt enough to 'wow' me or to win me back, because for the last 45 minutes I was already convinced and sad thinking I had already figured it out.

I think never connecting Borden with Tesla is how he should have kept it...