The enthusiasm for this movie, even eight years after it's release, is amazing.
There are many interesting theories about The Prestige here, but they are all fundamentally flawed :
Borden and Fallon are not clones - they have separate personalities - end of story (and Tesla had trouble perfecting his machine remember - it was the first time he had built a "duplicating" machine - for Angier)
Borden got Tesla to make him a machine (which only shoots out electricity) to make him a better showman - he sends Angier on, what he thinks is (and what should have been), a wild goose chase.
It would have been perfect had the machine not worked - but unfortunately it did (and there are "facts" in the movie to prove it - but the biggest one is Gerald Root himself - again, unfortunately - has anyone ever taken a really close look at Gerald Root?)
The air bubble in the last scene was probably accidental (Hugh Jackman had to do the scene in a tank of water remember) - Nolan probably just left it in as an extra thing to fox us with
The Angier "clones" are identical - there is effectively no original or copy - they are just completely identical in every way - they both are "original" - and, because one "Angier" called out "No... wait.. I'm the..." - all "Angiers" know the other copy feels the same way - they would both try to shoot the other first given a gun - the one who drowns knows he is the unlucky one - the last remaining Angier feels he has always been the lucky one
There is no "third" Angier (as Caldlow) waiting in the wings watching his "clones" perform The Transported Man (and frame Borden) - because Angier's conscious / subconscious is duplicated with each "incarceration" of himself - each "Angier" would know the other's thoughts (and plans) right up till point of duplication
Angier did not frame Borden - you weren't watching closely if you think he did - this is the significance of the final words of the movie - "you don't want to know the truth - you want to be fooled"
There are many interesting theories about The Prestige here, but they are all fundamentally flawed :
Borden and Fallon are not clones - they have separate personalities - end of story (and Tesla had trouble perfecting his machine remember - it was the first time he had built a "duplicating" machine - for Angier)
Borden got Tesla to make him a machine (which only shoots out electricity) to make him a better showman - he sends Angier on, what he thinks is (and what should have been), a wild goose chase.
It would have been perfect had the machine not worked - but unfortunately it did (and there are "facts" in the movie to prove it - but the biggest one is Gerald Root himself - again, unfortunately - has anyone ever taken a really close look at Gerald Root?)
The air bubble in the last scene was probably accidental (Hugh Jackman had to do the scene in a tank of water remember) - Nolan probably just left it in as an extra thing to fox us with
The Angier "clones" are identical - there is effectively no original or copy - they are just completely identical in every way - they both are "original" - and, because one "Angier" called out "No... wait.. I'm the..." - all "Angiers" know the other copy feels the same way - they would both try to shoot the other first given a gun - the one who drowns knows he is the unlucky one - the last remaining Angier feels he has always been the lucky one
There is no "third" Angier (as Caldlow) waiting in the wings watching his "clones" perform The Transported Man (and frame Borden) - because Angier's conscious / subconscious is duplicated with each "incarceration" of himself - each "Angier" would know the other's thoughts (and plans) right up till point of duplication
Angier did not frame Borden - you weren't watching closely if you think he did - this is the significance of the final words of the movie - "you don't want to know the truth - you want to be fooled"