12-12-2008, 05:16 PM
<!--quoteo(post=4271:date=Dec 12 2008, 02:58 PM:name=BT)-->QUOTE (BT @ Dec 12 2008, 02:58 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=4246:date=Dec 12 2008, 01:59 PM:name=Butcher)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Butcher @ Dec 12 2008, 01:59 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=4221:date=Dec 12 2008, 12:35 PM:name=BT)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (BT @ Dec 12 2008, 12:35 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->Wow. I must really be in the minority. The Prestige had just about the stupidest fucking "twist" I have EVER seen. The performances were great, but what a total and complete fucking copout the ending was.
SPOILERS
If I remember correctly, wasn't the big twist "he did it with magic"? Except instead of actually saying "magic", they made up some bullshit about Tesla inventing a machine that creates replicas of people? Am I remembering that right? And you guys don't find that to be a huge load of shit?<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I thought it was brilliant. The fact that he has to kill the "copy" every time he does the trick adds a completely new and complex layer -- and I think he even says something like, "I never know if it's going to be me...or the copy that goes in the tank." Something about that is totally creepy to me. I didn't think it was a copout at all. And there are some clues dropped early on and scattered throughout that the story is leading to something like that -- so it isn't entirely out of the blue.
Nope. Not a huge load of shit at all. If they didn't "earn" it, then I would've been pissed, but I didn't have a problem with it at all. I would recommend a second viewing, BT, if you haven't already.
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It doesn't matter at all to me that they dropped clues, it's still a copout. Look, it's very well acted and directed, and there are some good ideas. But I look at it like this. Here is a mystery movie I came up with. Tell me what you think of it:
A woman is found murdered in a locked room. The windows and doors are locked from the inside, and there are no vents to crawl in an out. How did the murder kill her and get out?
Solution? He invented a magical machine which can transport him in and out of locked rooms. The end.
Satisfying "mystery"? Of course not. It doesn't matter how well I direct that movie, or how well it's acted or how much foreshadowing is put it, in the end, it's bullshit. It's Deus Ex Machina to the 10th degree. I can admire the craftsmanship of "The Prestige", but ultimately I have to dismiss it because it cheats.
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It isn't a Deus Ex Machina, though. You know that he's going to visit Bowie to make a magic machine -- that element is already introduced. "The Transported Man" secret is already revealed -- Batman uses his twin (and the twins have been living their lives as a single person -- which shows how committed to his craft he is (and how nuts he is)). The only thing the other dude can do is take it a step further...
We aren't going to agree here, but you see it as a copout and I don't. And I don't even think the Tesla machine is the true payoff -- it's that Batman has been sharing his life (his wife, his family, etc.) with his twin brother (which is an echo of the bird trick, and the magic show that the Chinese magician puts on).
Very early in the movie, Batman's butler is showing the lawyer (I think it's a lawyer) the Tesla machine. And he flat out says, "This machine isn't a magic trick. It creates real magic." I'm screwing up the quote, but it's there.
It isn't as if they spring it on you out of the blue. Hell -- in the opening credits, they even drop a clue about it.
The only thing I can say, if you haven't already, is try watching it again.
And if you still don't like it, then all I can say...is eat a dick.
SPOILERS
If I remember correctly, wasn't the big twist "he did it with magic"? Except instead of actually saying "magic", they made up some bullshit about Tesla inventing a machine that creates replicas of people? Am I remembering that right? And you guys don't find that to be a huge load of shit?<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I thought it was brilliant. The fact that he has to kill the "copy" every time he does the trick adds a completely new and complex layer -- and I think he even says something like, "I never know if it's going to be me...or the copy that goes in the tank." Something about that is totally creepy to me. I didn't think it was a copout at all. And there are some clues dropped early on and scattered throughout that the story is leading to something like that -- so it isn't entirely out of the blue.
Nope. Not a huge load of shit at all. If they didn't "earn" it, then I would've been pissed, but I didn't have a problem with it at all. I would recommend a second viewing, BT, if you haven't already.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
It doesn't matter at all to me that they dropped clues, it's still a copout. Look, it's very well acted and directed, and there are some good ideas. But I look at it like this. Here is a mystery movie I came up with. Tell me what you think of it:
A woman is found murdered in a locked room. The windows and doors are locked from the inside, and there are no vents to crawl in an out. How did the murder kill her and get out?
Solution? He invented a magical machine which can transport him in and out of locked rooms. The end.
Satisfying "mystery"? Of course not. It doesn't matter how well I direct that movie, or how well it's acted or how much foreshadowing is put it, in the end, it's bullshit. It's Deus Ex Machina to the 10th degree. I can admire the craftsmanship of "The Prestige", but ultimately I have to dismiss it because it cheats.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
It isn't a Deus Ex Machina, though. You know that he's going to visit Bowie to make a magic machine -- that element is already introduced. "The Transported Man" secret is already revealed -- Batman uses his twin (and the twins have been living their lives as a single person -- which shows how committed to his craft he is (and how nuts he is)). The only thing the other dude can do is take it a step further...
We aren't going to agree here, but you see it as a copout and I don't. And I don't even think the Tesla machine is the true payoff -- it's that Batman has been sharing his life (his wife, his family, etc.) with his twin brother (which is an echo of the bird trick, and the magic show that the Chinese magician puts on).
Very early in the movie, Batman's butler is showing the lawyer (I think it's a lawyer) the Tesla machine. And he flat out says, "This machine isn't a magic trick. It creates real magic." I'm screwing up the quote, but it's there.
It isn't as if they spring it on you out of the blue. Hell -- in the opening credits, they even drop a clue about it.
The only thing I can say, if you haven't already, is try watching it again.
And if you still don't like it, then all I can say...is eat a dick.
