Featured Image Credit: Warner Bros.
Topics: Film and TV, Hugh Jackman, Christopher Nolan
Ali Condon
One of Christopher Nolan's most impressive and, some would say, most criminally underrated has just turned 16 years old.
Christopher Nolan has had so many blockbuster hits across his 30-year career that having one or two fall by the wayside is pretty understandable.
It was up against hard-hitters like The Dark Knight, Inception, Interstellar, and Dunkirk, for crying out loud.
Even so, people are looking back at one of the filmmaker's first psychological thrillers, marking 16 years since its cinematic release and agreeing that it definitely didn't get the recognition it deserved. And that movie is The Prestige.
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The 2006 masterpiece, based on the novel of the same name by Christopher Priest, was a film for the ages, so full of twists and turns that it had viewers doing mental gymnastics trying to figure out what was going on.
Set in 19th century London, The Prestige told the story of rival stage magicians Robert 'The Great Danton' Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred 'The Professor' Borden (Christian Bale).
After a sudden tragedy, the two friends quickly become bitter enemies and both become obsessed with creating a better stage illusion.
Their dangerous rivalry brings them unimaginable fame but with disastrous consequences.
The film had a jaw-dropping cast, with Michael Cane, Scarlett Johansson, and David Bowie joining Bale and Jackman.
Nolan worked on the script for five years with his brother Jonathan, and when it finally came to cinemas on 20 October 2006, it was an immediate hit.
Not only did it debut at number one on its opening weekend in the United States, but it grossed $109 million (£97.7 million) and was nominated for two Academy Awards (Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography, if you were wondering).
But despite its success, The Prestige has been somewhat forgotten about among Nolan's unbelievable filmography.
On Rotten Tomatoes it earned a 76 percent approval rating, which is good, but not nearly as high as Nolan's other hits.
Nolan's highest Rotten Tomatoes score is a near-perfect 94 percent for The Dark Knight.
And a lot of his other films have managed to squeeze their way in above The Prestige, including: Following (81 percent), Memento (93 percent), Insomnia (92 percent), Batman Begins (84 percent), Inception (87 percent), The Dark Knight Rises (87 percent), Quay (83 percent), and Dunkirk (92 percent).
After learning that The Prestige had just turned 16, fans took to Twitter to discuss how shockingly underrated it really is.
"This is my favourite Nolan movie. I’d take it over Dark Knight or even Inception," one person tweeted.
"Not enough people realise how fantastic this film is," wrote a second.
"One of the most underrated movies, honestly it is fantastic," raved a third.
And a fourth agreed: "Possibly the greatest movie I’ve ever seen."
If you'd like to give it another watch and grant it the respect it truly deserves - and try to figure out exactly what that twist ending means - you can stream The Prestige on Disney+ now.
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