A "Prestige" Trick or Treat?

by Andy Dursin
www.andyfilm.com

Christopher Nolan's follow-up to his "Batman Begins" triumph, THE PRESTIGE, was one of two "period" films produced last year involving sleight-of-hand and lead characters consumed by their talents.

But while Neil Burger's "The Illusionist" offered a protagonist who at least was utilizing his abilities for the purposes of love, the two dueling magicians in "The Prestige" only care about one-upping one another in a humorless film that looks great, is reasonably well-performed, but ultimately comes undone due to relentlessly unsympathetic characters and a silly climax that feels in part like a Shaggy Dog joke.

Hugh Jackman stars as Robert Angier, a magician who stands by and watches his wife (Piper Perabo) die in an accident that he holds competing showman Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) responsible for. Nolan and his brother Jonathan penned the script (from a novel by Christopher Priest), which then follows the attempts by Angier to uncover Borden's secrets, particularly as the latter sees his career skyrocket thanks to a teleportation trick that constantly sells out the house. Angier's attempts to understand Borden's showstopper lead him to a snowy Colorado town that has running electricity, and an eccentric scientist (David Bowie) who lives in the hills and may just have a contraption that would make David Cronenberg proud.

"The Prestige" is atmospherically shot in light and shadow by Wally Pfister and benefits from the same visual gloss Nolan brought to "Batman Begins." This is a grade-A production across the board, but the one-note script grows to be a problem as neither character is remotely sympathetic -- Nolan drops whatever compassionate elements are left in Jackman and Bale's characters as the duo outrageously try and climb to the top, with only Michael Caine's fine supporting turn as Jackman's manager offering any viewer identification. Scarlett Johansson's character, meanwhile, proves to be a total bust, and the weird, Shyamalan-like finale doesn't pack nearly the wallop it should since some of its aspects (without giving it all away) feel as if they've come out of left field.

After the smoke has cleared and "The Prestige" has played its hand, you're left with a handsome but cold, detached movie that you have no emotional investment in seeing play out. Still, Nolan's direction is so assured and the production so well-mounted that it's hard to completely dismiss "The Prestige." Just don't expect the director to pull a rabbit out of the hat this time.

Buena Vista's DVD offers a 20-minute interview with Nolan and an "Art of the Prestige" still gallery. The 2.35 (16:9) transfer and 5.1 Dolby Digital sound are both excellent, but Blu-Ray owners are obviously encouraged to check out the new HD version of the film, which boasts a sharper 1080p transfer with uncompressed 5.1 Dolby Digital sound. Since the film is shot in mostly dark interiors, the "three-dimensional," high-definition attributes of the transfer aren't always eye-popping, yet it's still an appreciable upgrade and a definite recommend for Blu-Ray buffs. (**1/2, 2006, PG-13, 130 mins.)

CRANK (**1/2, 87 mins., 2006, R; Lions Gate): Jason Statham gives an appropriately cranky performance as a hitman poisoned with a Chinese toxin that forces him to keep his adrenaline going -- or else perish as a consequence -- in the manic "Crank." Writer-director duo Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor have fashioned a non-stop 87 minutes of raunchy action, sex, violence, and cartoonish pratfalls, following Statham's Chev Chelios as he attempts to set things right with his girlfriend (Amy Smart), get some payback from the adversary responsible for his predicament (Jose Pablo Cantillo), and possibly get a cure...if he can find one. "Crank" is wild, unbridled entertainment that works for about 2/3 of its duration, before the feeling that what you're watching is little more than a video-game settles in. It's ultimately a one-dimensional ride in terms of dramatics and narrative, but I give the movie credit for being amusing, empty cinematic calories that Statham fans will undoubtedly gobble up. Lionsgate's DVD includes a good amount of supplements (commentary, interviews, promotional footage) in the movie's "Crank'd Out Mode," while a bizarre "family friendly" audio track deletes the movie's copious profanity from the soundtrack. The 16:9 (1.85) transfer and 5.1 Dolby Digital sound are both top- notch.

THE LAST UNICORN: Special Edition (***, 1982, 93 mins., G; Lionsgate): Fans who have waited patiently for a decent DVD edition of "The Last Unicorn" can finally rejoice now that Lionsgate has packaged a highly satisfying new release to coincide with its 25th Anniversary. This 1982 Rankin/Bass adaptation of Peter S. Beagle's book (scripted by the author for the screen) was a troubled production that received scant distribution before becoming widely available on video in the heydey of VHS. Over the years the movie has developed a strong cult following in spite of its turbulent origins, and Lionsgate's new DVD rewards its fans with a top-notch 16:9 (1.85) transfer that's a huge upgrade on the previous pan-and-scan DVD edition. The 5.1 sound does justice to Jimmy Webb's tuneful, mellow score (with America performing the memorable title song), and extras include an eight-minute talk with Beagle, the original trailer (narrated by Ernie Anderson), and a couple of interactive extras aimed at kids. The film is a poetic, surprisingly mature fantasy with a superb cast providing the vocal articulation for Beagle's characters (Mia Farrow, Jeff Bridges, Alan Arkin, Christopher Lee, Angela Lansbury and Rene Auberjonis among them), and remains one of the more satisfying non-Disney animated films of the 1980s.

REIGN OF FIRE (*1/2, 102 mins., 2002, PG-13; Buena Vista): Fire-breathing flop from 2002 is a formulaic bore made watchable only by Matthew McConaughey's hysterical performance as an American dragonslayer on a future Earth where fire-breathing beasts have enslaved the planet.

How and why this happened is explained in a couple of throwaway lines of dialogue -- the rest is dull filler, chronicling the exploits of rag-tag Brits (lead by the film's real star, Christian Bale) attempting to remain in their ragged "Waterworld"/"Mad Max"-like society while dodging the prehistoric monsters. One day a group of Americans arrive -- lead by the bombastic McConaughey -- who have a more direct approach to dealing with the dragons: they kill them. Using an air force chopper and plenty of firepower at their disposal (how they're able to recharge their weapons or find fuel is never discussed), the Yanks take down one beast, but then -- in the film's funniest scene - - McConaughey chews out the Brits for throwing a "soiree" over it.

"X-Files" vet Rob Bowman directed this hugely disappointing genre film, which offers no surprises or any suspense whatsoever (even Ed Shearmur's score is often a direct rip-off of "Aliens"). This certainly isn't on the level of "Dragonslayer" or even "Dragonheart" -- what "Reign of Fire" is, unfortunately, is a tired old, post-apocalyptic film whose creators should have spent energy on cultivating a good script, not a glitzy marketing campaign.

Buena Vista's Blu Ray edition of "Fire" does contain a solid new 1080p transfer that's an appreciable upgrade on the standard DVD edition, though, like that release, offers nothing extraordinary in the way of extras (an interview with Bowman and standard-issue Making Of featurettes). For hard-core McConaughey fans with a Blu-Ray player only!