I liked The Prestige quite a bit, especially the feeling that the whole film was a magic trick. I mean, the clues to the film's prestige, the great revelation and the biggest twist were laid throughout the film right in front of us. That kind of witty manipulation doesn't bother me because the film doesn't assume that the audience is stupid, so it doesn't hide anything just to hit us with the twist right out of nowhere (like Shyamalan often does).
Nolan actually wants us to participate in solving this puzzle, but he also knows that we'll be captivated by the film magic and too excited by the narrative. And like a good magician he knows that we want to be manipulated and we want to prolong this journey to the prestige. Although some people may have guessed what the big twist is right away, that doesn't take away anything from the film. Hell, Nolan even teased us with it throughout the film and Bale's wonderful performance gave us hints (this is even more evident on the second viewing). Journey is what matters and that is why this film has a great replay value.
These words from Michael Caine's character really sum up the concept of the film:
Now you're looking for the secret. But you won’t find it because of course, you're not really looking. You don't really want to work it out. You want to be fooled.
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