Film

Now You See Me Film Review

It’s been dubbed ‘Ocean’s 11 with magic’ but it might be more realistic to compare it to Ocean’s 12. That’s right, the one that isn’t as good. The one that doesn’t make a lot of sense. The one that wasted its potential. And yet hugely entertaining at the same time. Now You See Me may not be the masterpiece its exceptional trailer hinted towards. But it’s still a thoroughly watchable, exhilarating thriller- even if you’re not quite sure why.

This kind of ensemble movie lives or dies by its cast- and luckily they’re- for the most part- fantastic. Casting Jesse Eisenberg as a cocky smartmouth and Woody Harrelson as a dismissive cynic (think Zombieland) were complete no-brainers, while the underused Isla Fisher and Dave Franco both do their best with one-dimensional characters. There’s also solid support from such reliable types as Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, and Melanie Laurent. If there is a bum note, it’s struck by Mark Ruffalo, who fails to convince either in the forced romantic subplot or as the brash inspector attempting to bring the rogues to justice.

The dialogue is snappy and clever, with Eisenberg’s silvertongued delivery being the highlight, and there are enough clever ideas here to keep things interesting. It even goes so far as to make magic cool. The problem, unfortunately, lies with the plot, which begins intriguingly but gradually loses both focus and momentum as the convoluted story attempts to untangle itself. Realism was never exactly going to be order of the day here, but this takes the biscuit. Nothing ever really seems to make sense, and despite the film’s feeble attempts to explain this, you’re still left with some rather monumental scepticisms. The final twist draws a yawn as opposed to a gasp- it’s not that we’re expecting it, more that we don’t care.

Despite its flaws though, Now You See Me is an entertaining 90 minutes, saved by its performances and the common truth that magic is actually very engrossing. The real magic, though, is how anyone ever believed the effects and the repartee would prop up the weak script. Now You See Me? Maybe you should.

***

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