by G.E. Uke, Reporter,
I am one of those unfortunate people who “missed” the first two Now You See Me movies.
And this is a pity, because they belong to that special genre of “heist” films that only come out rarely. You know the movies I’m talking about: the Ocean’s 11 series, The Italian Job, and so forth. Cleverness, exotic props, convoluted plans, and a healthy dose of suspension of disbelief are all needed to pull one off. The writers who can do this are rare.
Now You See Me: Now You Don’t is also a special animal, because many of the tricks it relies upon are rather implausible. You can’t hypnotize and implant suggestions in a person’s mind by grabbing their face and saying “sleep”, for example. They still manage to be enjoyable because of the ambiance they evoke: they have a sort of slick, elitist arrogance that is easy to admire and captivating to watch.
When asked to review this most recent release, I binged the other two to ensure I would have context. This made me a fan. But the last Now You See Me movie came out in 2016, which means it’s been almost 10 years. The actors have aged, and this new plot recognizes that. It needed to bring in all the previous characters from the past two films, add three new “magician thieves” to the mix, and build a relationship between them while showcasing all of their respective strengths equally.
This is a tall order, and I’m pleased to say the narrative succeeds. You get to see ALL of the original Horsemen again, hear what happened to them in the past decade, and watch the dynamic shift they experienced. Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher) is now a mother, Jack Wilder (Dave Franco) runs a show on a cruise liner, Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg) is an older magician, and Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson) is doing…something or other. They broke up because, allegedly, Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) got nailed on one of their philanthropic heists and ended up in a Russian prison. Bringing them all back together is tough, but everything makes sense. I applaud Ruben Fleischer for his masterful juggling act, and particularly approve of how the script handled the female illusionists. All three were competent and feminine, but not sexualized. Even Lizzy Caplan (Virginia Johnson) makes a comeback halfway through the movie, which is good because she’s my favorite Horseman.
The premise of this movie, in a nutshell, is that a mysterious third party gathers the Horsemen back together and orders them to recruit a trio of young illusionist thieves who have been pretending to BE the original Horsemen to defraud evil businesspeople. Together, they go after an international diamond magnate who launders money for various evil organizations worldwide. This involves stealing a large and famous diamond, which the villain (Veronika Vanderberg, aka Rosamund Pike) hates them for. Many of the tricks utilized by the Horsemen and their three new partners are even more outlandish and less explained than the first two movies, presumably because the writers felt the need to up the ante. This creates some pretty wacky scenes that detract from the movie rather than contribute to it, resulting in a melange of cleverness and suspension of disbelief that’s not quite off-putting but not quite impressive.
Rating: 
Regardless of its rough edges, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t was mostly entertaining and contributed to an IP that I found quite entertaining for its own sake.
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