"[I]ntricate and elaborate....It has a satisfyingly puzzlelike structure, zipping around in time and scattering clues throughout its busy scenes and frames."
New York Times

"[A]n aggressively devious sleight-of-hand thriller directed by Christopher Nolan, the magic, even at its most clever, is powered by currents -- sometimes literal ones -- of electricity and danger." -- Grade: B+
Entertainment Weekly

4 stars out of 5 -- "Nolan has crafted a cinematic sleight of hand that's as intriguing as it is dazzling....Like all the best magicians, Nolan shows much but tells very little."
Total Film

3.5 stars out of 4 -- "Nolan directs the film exactly like a great trick, so you want to see it again the second it's over."
Rolling Stone

"Lurching from saturnine cockney idealist to domestic tyrant, Bale is especially charismatic."
Sight and Sound

"[The characters'] grudge matches foreground the twists and turns of Nolan's customary looped narrative as acts of aggression, asserting the brutal prerogative of the storyteller, always one step ahead."
Film Comment

4 stars out of 5 -- "THE PRESTIGE is a clever and complex film that revels in its dark material and slip in enough twists to keep even the most cynical viewers on the edge of their seats."
Ultimate DVD