 On the other hand , Dennis Harvey of Variety criticized the film as gimmicky , though he felt the cast did well in underwritten roles . Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter felt that characters " ... are little more than sketches . Remove their obsessions , and the two magicians have little personality . " Nonetheless , the two reviewers praised David Bowie as Tesla , as well as the production values and cinematography . On a simpler note , Emanuel Levy has said : " Whether viewers perceive The Prestige as intricately complex or just unnecessarily complicated would depend to a large degree on their willingness to suspend disbelief for two hours . " He gave the film a B grade . 
