10 Greatest Opening Scenes In Sci-Fi Movie History

Showing off a ton of top hats that will ultimately come into play later on in the magical sci-fi tale, Christian Bale's magician Alfred Borden ominously asks if you're watching closely within the opening few seconds of Christopher Nolan's The Prestige.

So begins a wonderfully puzzling sequence that sees Michael Caine's stage engineer John Cutter explaining the three acts that make up every single magic trick.

And as he does this, the unbearably tense scene jumps between shots of Cutter making a little bird disappear, and Hugh Jackman's magic man Robert Angier doing that very same thing - only to himself, with a lot more electricity.

As Angier ends up being shockingly dropped into a locked water tank with Borden helplessly watching on, Nolan had viewers completely locked in. They wondered what in the holy hell they'd just witnessed and were desperate to find out why the Jackman had just been seemingly killed off within the flick's opening minutes.

That's one way to keep asses in seats, Chris.

The truth behind this baffling and deadly trick is masterfully revealed as the thrilling picture unfolds, of course. And those jaw-dropping revelations can't come soon enough after one of the most stressful, mysterious, captivating, and well executed sci-fi hooks you're ever likely to see.