Now You See Me Movie Review!!!

Now you see me.. Now you don't!!! Should you watch this movie.. Or should you not? Read on to find out!

This movie came out in an unintentional head to head fight with Will Smith’s After Earth.  Now unless you’ve been living in a bubble for the last few weeks, you’ll know that this movie wiped the floor with After Earth.

So it must be really good right?  Well, it’s not bad but it’s not great either.  I did enjoy it, but as is often the case, the final act left a fair amount to be desired.

The premise is that a bunch of former street magicians turned pro come together to carry out a number of miraculous heists live in front of their audiences and then reward their viewers with the loot, think modern day magical Robin Hoods.

Their first hit is a Paris bank vault cleared out without leaving the stage of their live show in Las Vegas.  Unsurprisingly, this catches the attention of the FBI and Interpol as well as Morgan Freeman, a former magician who now makes his living by revealing how magic acts are done in the vein of the Masked Magician.

Jesse Eisenberg returns in much the same fast-talking-form he had in The Social Network.  Woody Harrelson is fun as the mind-reading hypnotist.  Isla Fisher plays magicians assistant turned magician and Dave Franco plays a young pickpocket street conman.  Together they make for an eclectic bunch.

The FBIs investigations are led by Agent Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) who spends most of his time running around like a headless chicken, ten moves behind the super smooth magicians.  All the while leaving the viewers wondering if there’s something more than meets the eye.  We know that each trick is a set-up for the next one, for some grand finale but who brought the team together, why are they doing these heists, can they really do what they say they can and is it really magic?

It’s fun watching the lavish set ups to the various tricks, seeing the magic in action as well as the FBI trying and failing miserably to out-wit the super slick team.  I guess it appeals to that part of us that loved magic growing up as kids and also that part of us that would probably rob a bank if we thought we could get away with it.  There’s a good dynamic to all the characters that really makes us root for the magicians despite the fact they’re stealing money.  Good old Hollywood glamorizing crime once again.

As the film drew to a close, I was still left yearning for more – for something a bit bigger and better than what we are ultimately given.  The conclusion felt lacking as I unintentionally correctly guessed the hidden twist of the movie and of course Ruffalo not turning into the Hulk was a slight disappointment.

Is it better than After Earth?  Well, having not seen the latter I really can’t comment.

Overall, this is good entertainment for a night out at the movies but not a movie that I will be seeking out to watch again or own for my collection. 

This film is more a Criss Angel Mindfreak or David Blaine than a Harry Houdini or David Copperfield.

Rating 3 out of 5.

 

Bobby