Miscellaneous Movie Musings

Not Afraid · 06-11-2007, 12:15 PM

I actually think I preferred The Illusionist.

Alex · 06-11-2007, 12:57 PM

Can I ask what you preferred about it? I found the central story so lame (not to mention obvious before it even happened, let alone when you were supposed to realize what had happened) that everything else paled in comparison.

And I see that I was apparently wrong (or my unscientific sample was way skewed). At rottentomatoes, they both have similar overall ratings (75%) but The Prestige has an abysmal cream of the crop number (54%) while The Illusionist has 88%.

So that would mean among cream of the crop critics, The Illusionist was far preferred while among the rest, The Prestige was the big winner.

Strangler Lewis · 06-11-2007, 01:17 PM

I liked both, but I found the competition at the core of "The Prestige" to be more compelling than the lost/found love thing at the core of "The Illusionist." "The Presige" reminded me of "Sleuth." "The Illusionist" reminded me of "The Princess Bride," except without the humor and the ROUSes.

I also thought that Christian Bale's character was fairly interesting in that, at least initially, he was unlikeable in a fairly lowkey, "What's wrong with this asshole" sort of way. The movie's low ratings might be attributable to the fact that Edward Norton provides more of a solid core for a movie than Hugh Jackman who is basically a handsome dish towel. Actually, to my mind, "The Prestige" was Jackman's most compelling showing since, like Tom Cruise, he seems to be at his best playing a handsome fellow who is totally in over his head.

Snowflake · 06-11-2007, 01:41 PM

I enjoyed them both, as I said. I found them both to be predictable. My main beef about The Illusionist was a plot point in the wrapup/flashback, was not seen during the course of the film, and that made me mad (like a Christie novel, adding a last minute character). It was stylish and entertaining.

The Prestige had more heft plotwise, but was equally predictable to me (I understand the book is much better). I felt nothing for either character, in fact I was more interested in David Bowie.

Both worth a Netflix rental, neither worth buying and keeping.

06-11-2007, 12:15 PM	#1
Not Afraid HI! Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 17,108	I actually think I preferred The Illusionist.
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06-11-2007, 12:57 PM	#2
Alex . Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 13,354	Can I ask what you preferred about it? I found the central story so lame (not to mention obvious before it even happened, let alone when you were supposed to realize what had happened) that everything else paled in comparison. And I see that I was apparently wrong (or my unscientific sample was way skewed). At rottentomatoes, they both have similar overall ratings (75%) but The Prestige has an abysmal cream of the crop number (54%) while The Illusionist has 88%. So that would mean among cream of the crop critics, The Illusionist was far preferred while among the rest, The Prestige was the big winner.
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06-11-2007, 01:17 PM	#3
Strangler Lewis Doing The Job Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: In a state Posts: 3,956	I liked both, but I found the competition at the core of "The Prestige" to be more compelling than the lost/found love thing at the core of "The Illusionist." "The Presige" reminded me of "Sleuth." "The Illusionist" reminded me of "The Princess Bride," except without the humor and the ROUSes. I also thought that Christian Bale's character was fairly interesting in that, at least initially, he was unlikeable in a fairly lowkey, "What's wrong with this asshole" sort of way. The movie's low ratings might be attributable to the fact that Edward Norton provides more of a solid core for a movie than Hugh Jackman who is basically a handsome dish towel. Actually, to my mind, "The Prestige" was Jackman's most compelling showing since, like Tom Cruise, he seems to be at his best playing a handsome fellow who is totally in over his head. __________________ Live now-pay later. Diner's Club!
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06-11-2007, 01:41 PM	#4
Snowflake lost in the fog Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: San Francisco Posts: 7,831	I enjoyed them both, as I said. I found them both to be predictable. My main beef about The Illusionist was a plot point in the wrapup/flashback, was not seen during the course of the film, and that made me mad (like a Christie novel, adding a last minute character). It was stylish and entertaining. The Prestige had more heft plotwise, but was equally predictable to me (I understand the book is much better). I felt nothing for either character, in fact I was more interested in David Bowie. Both worth a Netflix rental, neither worth buying and keeping. __________________ Be yourself; everyone else is already taken. - Oscar Wilde
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