In this visually spectacular blend of astonishing illusions and exhilarating action from director Louis Leterrier (Clash of the Titans) four talented magicians mesmerize an international audience with a series of bold and original heists all the while pursuing a hidden agenda that has the FBI and Interpol scrambling to anticipate their next move.
Sometimes, it doesn't take a hugely long and detailed review to sum up a film. Because for Louis Leterrier's 2013 thriller 'Now You See Me', the problem is pretty simple: it's just not as clever as it thinks it is.
The movie revolves around a quartet of professional magicians - played by Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher and Dave Franco - who are recruited by a mysterious, unidentified benefactor to carry out a series of magic shows that also serve as elaborate heists. Mark Ruffalo plays the FBI agent who's brought in to investigate them, and Michael Caine plays a powerful businessman with links to the group, while Morgan Freeman portrays a sceptical filmmaker who is intent on exposing the group's secrets.
This excellent roster of actors was what drew me to the movie, and initially I found it all quite enjoyable: a slick and stylish heist-based thriller with a decent ensemble cast, plenty of twists and turns in the story, some inventive set-pieces and some good one-liners here and there. It's not hugely original, however, and it quickly started to become quite reminiscent of similarly-themed fare like Steven Soderbergh's 'Ocean's Eleven' or Christopher Nolan's 'The Prestige'. Indeed, more than anything else, it feels like 'Now You See Me' is desperate to emulate the intricate plotting and clockwork-like precision of Nolan's movies.
Unfortunately, it just doesn't quite have the brains to live up to it.
While the movie tries to dazzle you with its surface charm, it can't escape the numerous plot contrivances and logical problems that lurk within the story. It would spoil things too much to go into great detail about these, but suffice it to say that if you're building a story that relies on intricate plotting and smart, unexpected twists and turns, you'd better be 100% sure that it all stands up to scrutiny. Sadly, though, it doesn't - and these problems end up weakening the film, ultimately overwhelming its otherwise-enjoyable elements.
Furthermore, the flashy visual style and fast-cut editing techniques actually serve to put distance between the viewers and the characters - and this becomes a major problem when the film's final twist rolls around. Because a character-based twist is worth nothing if you haven't given your audience a chance to build a connection with the characters themselves, and 'Now You See Me' simply never gets close enough to any of its main players to give you a reason to care.
In some ways, this is a perfectly enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours: it's slick, imaginative, reasonably well-acted and often pretty funny. I just wish it had a bit more substance to back up the style, and didn't start to fall apart as soon as you started thinking about it for more than a few seconds.
'Now You See Me'? I'm starting to wish I hadn't.
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Please note this is a region B Blu-ray and will require a region B or region free Blu-ray player in order to play. In this visually spectacular blend of astonishing illusions and exhilarating action from director Louis Leterrier (Clash of the Titans), four talented magicians mesmerise an international audience with a series of bold and original heists, all the while pursuing a hidden agenda that has the FBI and Interpol scrambling to anticipate their next move. Actors Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco, Mark Ruffalo, Morgan Freeman, Mélanie Laurent & Michael Caine Director Louis Leterrier Certificate 12 years and over Year 2013 Languages English Duration 1 hour and 56 minutes (approx)
Extended edition of the big-budget crime thriller directed by Louis Leterrier. A group of magicians called 'The Four Horsemen' attract the attention of the FBI and Interpol when they pull off a bank heist during one of their shows, robbing Arthur Tressler (Michael Caine) of 140 million dollars. Fellow illusionist and magic act debunker Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman) then warns Tressler that the group's heist may be part of a bigger operation and that they must be observed very closely. The ensemble cast includes Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Mark Ruffalo and Mélanie Laurent.
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