Wall Street values of the Reagan era are mocked in “American Psycho” (2000), a film that balances on a knife’s edge between satire and horror. While it may have succeeded in its moment, this film has no current purpose. The values of subsequent eras are even more twisted. Therefore, making fun of musical tastes (Huey Lewis, Phil Collins) or competitions over who has the fanciest business card or reservations to the trendiest Manhattan restaurant seem quaint in retrospect. However, this was one of Christian Bale’s first big roles and it’s quite fun watching him learn how to be a star.
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There are plenty of movies about two guys trying to outdo one another, but none quite like “The Prestige” (2006). Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman play a pair of magicians who duel to the bitter end. And I do mean bitter. And I do mean end. The first half is tedious and non-sequential, which is, as usual, more work than art (something filmmakers refuse to understand). Once the time sequence gets a little straighter, the pace picks up. False climaxes are layered with macabre worthy of Poe. And then you get blindsided with the oldest trick in the storyteller’s book.
Remember when we used to debate who was the better Batman? Clooney? Keaton? Ummm, Kilmer? And then, in 2005, came the Dark Knight trilogy, with “Batman Begins.” Bankable, big-name stars can make for good box office, but it’s the story that makes for a great movie. When Christopher Nolan rebooted the Caped Crusader, he made the story less like the cartoonish 1960s TV series and more like the brooding comic books. And he surrounded a relative B-lister, Christian Bale, with stellar cast of character actors. Because if the story’s good enough, Batman is the only bankable big name you need.
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