Seeing as these two films were released seven weeks apart from each other in theaters it led me as well as many others to question... "When the hell did early 20th century magicians become so popular?"
Perhaps the more important question is which is better? Now that I've finally been able to get a copy of The Prestige from Blockbuster I can decide. Maybe that's saying alot about the two films. I was able to rent the The Illusionist no problem when it was released on DVD in early January. However, it took me while to finally get a copy of The Prestige when it was released about a week ago. Although I'm sure the popularity of The Prestige was partially fueled by writer/director Christoper Nolan's involement (Christopher's brother Johnathan also co-wrote the story).
Ok ... right off the bat, I've got to say I enjoyed The Prestige much more than the Illusionist. While it's debateable that both of the film's plots are somewhat predictable, I think the Illusionist fell into this trap more than The Prestige. When you finally start to understand what is happening in The Prestige, it still has a few more surprises for you. On the other hand, I saw the Illusionist as being somewhat one-dimensional which led me to loose some interest in it. At a certain point there isn't anywhere else for the plot to go.
The Prestige's story is so much more intriguing because of the rivalry between Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Borden (Christian Bale). They battle throughout the movie, but you're never really sure which one is going to come out on top in the end. The Nolan brothers create an incredibly intense and mysterious atomosphere throughout the film using the same unique style of writting used in Memento that skips back and forth in the plot (for those of you that didn't enjoy this aspect of Momento, the Prestige doesn't over use it).
While I did enjoy both films, it is almost unjust to compare the two because The Prestige is in a league of it's own in my mind. The main advantage The Prestige has over The Illusionist is the Nolan brothers' standout writing that keeps you on the edge of your seat trying to put the pieces together throughout the movie.