New York Times
"[I]ntricate and elaborate....It has a satisfyingly puzzlelike structure, zipping around in time and scattering clues throughout its busy scenes and frames." 10/20/2006 p.E12Entertainment Weekly
"[A]n aggressively devious sleight-of-hand thriller directed by Christopher Nolan, the magic, even at its most clever, is powered by currents -- sometimes literal ones -- of electricity and danger." -- Grade: B 10/27/2006 p.54 Total Film
4 stars out of 5 -- "Nolan has crafted a cinematic sleight of hand that's as intriguing as it is dazzling....Like all the best magicians, Nolan shows much but tells very little." 12/01/2006 p.44 Rolling Stone
3.5 stars out of 4 -- "Nolan directs the film exactly like a great trick, so you want to see it again the second it's over." 11/02/2006 p.88 Sight and Sound
"Lurching from saturnine cockney idealist to domestic tyrant, Bale is especially charismatic." 12/01/2006 p.70 Film Comment
"[The characters'] grudge matches foreground the twists and turns of Nolan's customary looped narrative as acts of aggression, asserting the brutal prerogative of the storyteller, always one step ahead." 01/01/2007 p.77 Ultimate DVD
4 stars out of 5 -- "THE PRESTIGE is a clever and complex film that revels in its dark material and slip in enough twists to keep even the most cynical viewers on the edge of their seats." 05/01/2007 p.92 ReelViews 7 of 10
Watching The Prestige is like observing a magic act where the magician's sleight-of-hand isn't deft enough. The trick almost works, but not quite...With its mechanical twists and turns and lack of heart, the movie often resembles Sleuth in superficial ways, except The Prestige resorts to cheating while Sleuth relied on cunning and guile. As is too often the case with narratives that try to be oblique to the end, the film's climax is strangely predictable...Those hoping to gain insight into how magicians work won't find a lot of help here. The details of a few tricks are revealed, but they're filled with cheats that can be found only in movies or literature. - James Berardinelli
Reel.com 8 of 10
A frequently dazzling display of cinematic sleight-of-hand from writer/director Christopher Nolan (Batman Begins), The Prestige is an entertaining, handsomely produced period thriller that mostly holds you in its grip, despite an overly convoluted narrative structure that's ultimately more wearying than satisfying. However, this faithful adaptation of Christopher Priest's 1996, prize-winning novel has so much atmospheric style, wit, and dramatic intrigue that you're more than willing to overlook said flaws and surrender to The Prestige, which depicts a festering grudge between two Victorian-era stage magicians that escalates to deadly heights...an eminently enjoyable and clever period thriller, graced with charismatic leads (Jackman is particularly impressive), an excellent supporting cast, and bravura filmmaking from Nolan, the cinematic magician of The Prestige. - Tim Knight
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