Michael Caine and Scarlett Johansson fill supporting roles in "The Prestige," directed by Christopher Nolan.

Courtesy of Touchstone Pictures

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It's a battle that's played out every day at recess in kids' imaginations: Who would win in a fight between Batman and Wolverine?

Christopher Nolan's battling-magicians drama, "The Prestige," tries to settle the debate. Egotistical late-1800s magicians Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Borden (Christian Bale) cross wands for more than two hours of compelling one-upsmanship.

Both actors segue easily out of their superhero personas into power-mad illusionists.

Magicians can get quite nasty when they're messing with one another's tricks. They basically take turns punking each other. One shoots the other's fingers off, both pose as audience volunteers to sabotage each other's shows, and one steals the other's secret journal. The competition could be no more vicious if Jackman brandished his adamantium claws and Bale flung his batarangs.

Based on the Christopher Priest novel, "The Prestige" is a solid, engrossing thriller with more twists than Chubby Checker, but its third-act plot holes — logic does a disappearing act — cause it to fall a top hat short of rival magician movie "The Illusionist."

The story begins at what appears to be the culmination of the feud, with Borden being hauled off to jail and condemned to hang after he's caught backstage watching Angier drown in a locked water tank.

Then we jump back in time to when Borden and Angier were young, hotshot assistants to Cutter (Michael Caine). Their personalities clash from the beginning. Angier is an affable showman, happily married and patient to wait for his turn, while Borden is a duplicitous braggart who derides Cutter's conservatism and declares he'll pull off the greatest trick in history. It's only a matter of time before the men come to blows, and Borden's slip-up ignites Angier's fury.

Once the battle is on, Nolan's instincts as a storyteller take center stage. The narrative slips back and forth between the two magicians, who tangle over audiences, trick secrets and the love of Olivia (Scarlett Johansson), an enigmatic stage assistant.

Nolan, who was so brilliant in his time-skipping storylines in "Memento" and "Batman Begins," weaves a tantalizing yarn that juggles your allegiance in what increasingly becomes an escalating contest between two villains. Both trade on deception, secrets and misdirection. They're so clever they often fool themselves.

Bale and Jackman are intense and passionate. David Bowie matches their efforts, entering the film at the midpoint as scientist Nikola Tesla, whose inventions could tip the balance between the two.

Ultimately, "The Prestige" loses its chance at a showstopping finale by failing to jell its disparate storylines. The final scenes are reminiscent of the last episodes of "The X-Files" in their absurdity and desperation to make everything make sense. As the magicians learn, sleight of hand can only take you so far.