Review - Now You See Me 2

Now You See Me 2

Director : Jon M. Chu.

Staring : Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrleson, Dave Franco, Lizzy Caplan, Daniel Radcliffe, Jay Cho, Sanaa Lathan, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and many other excellent people.

Writers : Ed Solomon.

Rating : 7/10.

Plot : The Four Horseman, a band of anarchistic social justice magicians, have been in hiding following a raid they made on a bank/insurance company. Wanted by the authorities they have been hiding, training, preparing themselves for the next mission given to them by ‘the Eye’. One of their number has left, but she is about to be replaced with another young female magician, and they are about to go back into action.

     Given a mission, they finally set to work, but all is not as it seems and soon they find themselves pawns in an ever shifting game of cat and mouse…

     That is the basic outline and, with all reviews here, there will be no spoliers or in-depth plot breakdowns, why? Because you want to see the film. Hell, even if you don’t I still don’t want to tell you. I think the joy of film is in the experience of seeing it, not being told about it.

 

     Did you see the first Now You See Me? It was full of cool visuals and smart little tricks but it fell down, for me, on the lack of transparency. The finale is left almost entirely without some rational explanation and so it treats the magic as actual magic and not as a clever illusion by masterminds. That damaged a likeable and entertaining romp.

     Now You See Me 2 holds all the cards the first film did, set-pieces dazzle but only some of them are explained, so the ones that make no sense stand out as events that don’t fit with the general feel of the rest of the film. The hypnotism is a Hollywood swift version and though it is used in an entertaining and flashy way it also doesn’t really work. The card tricks flow but there’s always a feeling that perhaps we are being cheated, or they go on slightly too long.

     I didn’t like some of the action pieces, if I’m honest. You can’t see what is going on or how it all sets up and the incidental illusions in the fight are, again, there to wow and amuse, but are not explainable.

     Saying all of this I have to say the film is enjoyable. I loved the cast, Lizzy Caplan shines in it and Jesse Eisenberg does a very good job of being the man trying to be leader. Ruffalo and Harrelson are really watchable, though I did get annoyed by Harrelson’s double, and they are backed up nicely by Freeman and Caine. I would also single out a bearded Daniel Radcliffe who is both annoying and charming at the same time. He does exactly what is required of him and he does it with some style.

     Now You See Me 2 isn’t anything really special but it is fun, fast and has enough twists and laughs to make it well worth a watch. Also, Caplan has some excellent lines and points regarding the role of women in film and hits many of the big laughs. Look out for ‘Buffy’. That was a real treat.  

Now You See Me 2 – 7/10.