I have the feeling that magicians like Penn and
Teller, David Copperfield, and Siegfried and Roy aren’t really as popular as
they were about 10-20 years ago. I can’t really explain why this is (maybe it’s
because of how technologically advanced our lives have become or something like
that), but this might explain how recent films based around magic, like
Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Prestige’, ‘The Illusionist’, and ‘The Incredible Burt
Wonderstone’ (the first two ironically being released in the same year) have
not done much at the box office. But, there’s still an audience for this kind
of stuff (myself included) and if you’re a fan of magic, you’ll probably like
‘Now You See Me’, a caper film helmed by Louis Leterrier (‘The Transporter’ and
‘The Incredible Hulk’) and starring a noteworthy ensemble cast including Jesse
Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, and Morgan Freeman. It’s a film that might actually
amaze you with some of its genuinely surprising twists and turns.
After they are brought together by a mysterious
benefactor, showman Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), illusionist Merritt
McKinney (Woody Harrelson), escape artist Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher), and
pickpocket Jack Wilder (Dave Franco) become ‘The Four Horsemen’, a group of
magicians who, during a show in Las Vegas, apparently steal money from a bank
all the way across the Atlantic in France. This puts them in conflict with the
FBI and Interpol, namely Special Agent Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) and Interpol
Detective Alma Vargas (Melanie Laurent), who try to figure out how these four
managed to perform this seemingly impossible trick in just one night with the
help of magic debunker Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman). As the stakes become
higher, the two agents begin to realize some big secrets about the Horsemen and
their ‘plan’.
‘Now You See Me’ is a pretty entertaining film with
a story that will keep your interest throughout the whole film. It’s also one
of those rare movies where, even in today’s world where spoilers can be found
everywhere, there are some twists and turns that will surprise you. Without
revealing anything about these twists, one of them revolves around a possible
‘fifth’ member of The Four Horsemen and the writers do a really good job at
fooling you as to whom this person is. A key quote in the film is ‘The more you
think you see, the easier it will be to fool you’ and as cheesy as it may
sound, that’s a key part of this film’s success in that it does manage to trick
you. Overall, by the end of the film, the majority of the key points are tied
up rather nicely and there aren’t really much questions left unanswered.
The film also benefits from a very rock solid cast.
As the Four Horsemen, Eisenberg, Fisher, Harrelson, and Franco all work
together very well. Eisenberg notably abandons the ‘nerd’ persona that has been
present in a lot of his performances for this movie. However, the standout here
would have to be Mark Ruffalo, which is partially because, when you get down to
it, he and Melanie Laurent are actually kind of the main characters of the
film. The main focus is actually more on them; not the Four Horsemen. For the
record, this doesn’t mean that the Four Horsemen aren’t in it enough. It’s just
that it’s more from the point of view of Ruffalo. Morgan Freeman and Michael
Caine (who plays the insurance magnate who sponsors the ‘Four Horsemen’ up to a
certain point) also do great jobs as well, but admittedly at one point the two
of them kind of disappear for a while; the latter pretty much disappearing
completely by the halfway point.
All in all, ‘Now You See Me’ is a very entertaining
film that is a nice change of pace from the big budget blockbusters we’ve seen
so far this summer like ‘Iron Man 3’ or ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’. Aside from
its engaging plotline that’s not overly complex, it succeeds at actually
pulling some surprising twists, mainly by tricking the audience into thinking
something else. The cast is also very good, especially Mark Ruffalo and Jesse
Eisenberg, with the former stealing the show in what you can call the lead
role. If you’re someone who still likes the art of magic, then this film is
definitely for you. But, even if you’re not really a fan of magic, this is
still a nice popcorn flick that, like some of the famous magicians who ever
existed, might actually amaze you.
Rating: 4/5
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