Alfred Borden(Christian Bale) and Rupert Angier (Hugh Jackman) are two apprentice magicians whose friendship becomes a terrible rivalry when Angiers wife is killed in a water tank trick where he and Borden are planted volunteers from the audience. Angier blames Borden for his wife's death.
Soon the two men become competitors to have the next big trick. The competition becomes bitter rivalry with the two men stooping to sabatoge, subtrifuge, and physical assault in order to get the upper hand.
The two actually come across as the two halves of the perfect magician. Borden is the engineer who understands the intricacies of the trick, while Angier is the master showman. When Borden comes up with his The Transported Man trick it drives Angier over the edge. Through a misdirection Angier enlists the help Nikola Tesla (David Bowie) and his assistant Alley (Andy Serkis) in order to finally outdo Borden. The results (when it dawns on you what has happened) are horrific.
All the actors do great turns in this film. Also among the cast are Michael Caine as Cutter (Angier and Borden's mentor), and Scarlett Johansson as Olivia the duplicidous magician's assistant.
Bowie I thought, did a stand out and understated job as Tesla and it was fun watching Andy Serkis doing a Brooklyn accent.
Some might be put off by Christopher Nolan's non-linear story telling, but it serves this story well. The movie actually starts out with Borden in prison for Angier's murder and then proceeds to jump back and forth through the story's timeline.
I give the film a :thumbup: