Now You See Me

A group of magicians shows their skills on a Las Vegas stage, making it appear that a bank is being robbed in real-time, across the Atlantic, in France. The Euro notes disappear from the vault, and are showered on the fascinated audience facing the Four Horseman. Shubhra Gupta said in her review, “A collective gasp goes up from that gathering, as well as from us, sitting in the theatre.” Magic is always such great fun, and these are fun actors to watch when they are at their own pace. Gupta said, “Now You See Me coasts on both these elements and gives us some cracking moments. But the dots are connected with patches that are not so magical. And then it becomes a case of 'Now You Don't'.”

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.”

Despite so many visually entertaining moments, “Now You See Me 2,” released in 2016, is a largely disappointing sequel. Those who weren’t exactly convinced by the first movie definitely will not get to enjoy the sequel, which ends up depending on a seen-it-all-before story while giving weak execution of magic with very little excitement or innovation.

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.