12-12-2008, 04:58 PM
<!--quoteo(post=4246:date=Dec 12 2008, 01:59 PM:name=Butcher)-->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.
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.
I wish that I believed in Fate. I wish I didn't sleep so late. I used to be carried in the arms of cheerleaders.