A mysterious hooded character finds the four criminals.
Merritt McKinney, played by Woody Harrelson, is a mentalist, happy to hypnotize
and steal from the audience. Daniel Atlas, played by Jesse Eisenberg, is a trickster
who plays with cards and memories. Jack Wilder, played by Dave Franco, believes
‘nothing is locked’ because he opens every shut door that he sees. Finally, the
beautiful re-lipped Henley Reeves, played by Isla Fisher, escapes Houdini-like
from locked water tanks. These criminals create illusions for ticket-paying
eager crowds and stay one step ahead of FBI agent Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo)
and attractive Interpol detective (Melanie Laurent), as well as fights with an
insurance tycoon Arthur Tressler (Michael Caine) and a former magician Thaddeus
Bradley (Morgan Freeman) who likes outing his members for commercial reasons. The
names of the characters suggest that they have backstories, and we are prepared
for more depth but soon find out that “Now You See Me,” released in 2013, is
determined to stay on the ground, and surprise everyone.
Gupta says, “Till the film stays with the magic-walas,
it is fun. Harrelson is such a deceptively natural actor, seducing you (and me)
into swallowing all kinds of implausibility. Eisenberg is too-talky here again,
reminding us of his Zuckerberg act in 'The Social Network', adding in a bit of
smugness to his advantage. But when the film meanders off into spook-speak and
uniformed characters shouting 'Go, Go, Go', it becomes listless.” Why cast such
a nice group of actors (Caine and Freeman just need to be in the frame for the
film to feel better than it is) and then make them get into car chases and
predictable romance? Gupta notes, “The moment Ruffalo opens a conversation with
Laurent by growling too much, you know it will lead to cosying. No sleight of
hand required for that.”
The magic tricks are very impressive, especially one that
has Isla Fisher floating above the audience in a giant bubble. Gupta ended her
review by admitting, “But Now You See Me needed more sharpness for it be a
really good film. It's left me thirsting to re-visit the terrific 'The
Prestige' by Chris Nolan, a film about magicians that is pure magic.”
Starting about a year after their last huge magic stunt
which ended up outsmarting the FBI and putting enemy and local exposer Bradley
safely behind bars, The Four Horseman – members including J. Daniel Atlas, Merritt
McKinney, and Jack Wilder – have now gone underground, busy keeping a low
profile while waiting for their next big mission from The Eye.
It’s not long before the group is once again given a
mission when FBI agent Rhodes receives word that a major telecommunication
company has been stealing and selling personal information and now hopes that the
group – including newcomer Lula, played by Lizzy Caplan – can stage an
appearance and expose their dishonest dealings to the public. However, their
plan is soon ruined when they are magically transported to China, where the
company’s mastermind, played by Daniel Radcliffe, decides to blackmail them
into carrying out a robbery of his own.
Marija Loncarevic said in her review, “Directed by
John M. Chu, Now You See Me 2 manages to embrace a bubbly spirit and a brisk
pace from the very beginning, giving the movie that ‘brainless fun’ trait and a
unique visual style which separates it from its predecessor. Unfortunately,
though, while Chu’s efforts for trying to make sure that the action set pieces
are slickly executed and generally engaging, there is a certain lack of
substance and very little connection to the story as a whole, making all of its
flashiness and visual grandness just surface-based. The main problem comes in
the form of the over-explanations which lay behind the story’s every move,
while the magic tricks – which are not performed on stage anymore but are
executed through a series of heists – are rather routine and predictable.”
With the minor exception of Harrelson and Ruffalo, who
manage to keep their characters engaging throughout, most of the characters don’t
do anything but stroll plot devices, as opposed to fully rendered characters
who we, the audience, are supposed to connect to care for. Even newcomer
Radcliffe couldn’t do enough magic to create an impact.
Overall, fans of the first movie should find no
problem enjoying the second round of magical mess that “Now You See Me 2” has
to give. As for everyone else, don’t expect much.
I find both of these movies to be decent. There’s
nothing special about them and nothing really exciting about getting into them.
You would have thought that a movie based on villains who are magicians would
have been exciting, but surprisingly, I don’t think it impressed a lot of
people. If you want to check them out, it won’t hurt, but I would say just
watch the first movie. After that, if you aren’t impressed, don’t check out the
sequel. There are talks of a third movie, but I have not heard any final words about
when that will be released.
Thank you for joining in on “Morgan Freeman Month Part
2.” I hope everyone enjoyed and…wait a minute. Next month is October. You know
what that means!? HALLOWEEN MONTH!!! Stay tuned to find out what I will be
reviewing next month, because it will be exciting. Note: it will not be an entire
month's marathon.