Widely regarded by critics as an innocent summer movie, Now You See Me is all about performing the ultimate magic trick on the audience. We’ll explore the degree to which this cinematic sleight of hand succeeds right now!
Review Methodology
In building our verdict, we've considered 3 significant cinematic aspects: the actors, the filming, and the story itself. But we aim to provide a thorough review. In that case, we must also figure out whether the actors fit with the characters, the viewer's impression of the movie’s unfolding, and the degree to which the storytelling manages to drive the plot’s main point home.
Spoiler alert! This review is most helpful if you've already seen the movie and want to read a fresh interpretation of it. We'll mention some plot details that may spoil your surprise.
Cast & Characters
The story revolves around 4 Robin Hood-type illusionists who steal from the rich and reward their audiences and the law enforcement officers on their tails. As you'd expect, the lead characters are all but lovable and tailored to drive the viewer's sympathy. Still, how the film achieves this feat tends to dilute the character's realism.
Michael Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg) is the leader of the Four Horsemen, a group of amateur illusionists turned folk heroes. He's joined by Merritt Osbourne (Woody Harrelson), the mentalist, escape artist Henley (Isla Fisher) and pickpocket Jack (Dave Franco).
The action is put in motion by robbing a French bank, with the group moving on to increasingly subtle heists, thus drawing FBI agent Dylan (Mark Ruffalo) and Interpol officer Alma Dray (Mélanie Laurent) on their tails. They turn to Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman) for help, a professional debunker who knows the ins and outs of illusionary magic.
Acting – bottom line
The actors do fit with their roles, but the roles themselves are not that impressive in terms of complexity. You can quickly notice each leading character displaying some defining personality trait.
In a review published by the Hollywood Reporter, the cast is rightly said to be insubstantial at times, but that fits with the movie’s light tone. As long as you’re not expecting tear-dropping dramatic acting, you’ll be content with this lightness. You could say that the experienced actors perform a magic trick on the audience itself, making the plot seem even more entertaining than it is.
Filming Set & Visuals
Now, this is where Louis Leterrier’s film gets the highest marks. Even if we’re talking about a light, summer movie with a patchy storyline built around diluted characters, the shots sometimes touch on greatness.
Bits of the action were filmed in New Orleans, New York, Las Vegas, and Paris for the initial bank heist. The Four Horsemen’s initial magic show is held at the MGM Las Vegas. While the actual scene and crowd are 3D-modelled, one has to appreciate the quality of the visual effects.
We understand the producers’ preference to shoot at the MGM Casino since it’s such an imposing building with a 16,000 square meter gaming floor. Still, the scene may have looked better elsewhere at the WinStar World Casino’s huge concert hall or maybe at the Casino Montreal in Canada. These two are just a few examples of the largest casinos in the world. There are many others that impress with their architectural designs.
Still, those who share our opinion will be glad to discover that the sequel, Now You See Me 2, is shot in multiple hotspots in Macau, including some of the largest casino buildings in the area.
Plot Summary & Impact
We’ve already hinted at our views regarding the storyline, but now it’s time to delve a bit deeper. It’s clear from the outset that we’re watching a heist thriller movie. This dramatic subgenre focuses on the planning and executing of a large-scale robbery. We have multiple instances of stealing throughout the plot.
There is a healthy dose of humour in Now You See Me. That brings in caper elements, defined as comic details throughout an otherwise serious heist film. It's difficult to see this movie in one way or another, even though critics usually differentiate between the two categories (heist and caper movies). It’s a mingling of both, a fast-paced comedic thriller with tragic undertones.
Summary
We remember the Four Horsemen's initial robbery of a French bank. The heist was a task from a secret magicians' society called The Eye. This mysterious entity brought the four friends together. Arguably, it provides the chief element of suspense in the movie. Since The Eye’s tasks must be carried out as public performances, they naturally alert law enforcement.
It's important to mention the role of Morgan Freeman’s debunker character for the story’s development. It seems Thaddeus Bradley had been a magic debunker long before the Four Horsemen took over the stage with their money tricks. He is shown to have had some rivalry with a magician in the past, whom he could not in any way debunk.
We discover the magician was none other than Dylan’s (the FBI agent) father, who had tragically died while trying to perform an ‘impossible escape’ number. Learning about their rivalry, Dylan connects the dots and accuses Bradley of killing his father. The big surprise comes near the end of the film when it's revealed that the FBI agent who was supposedly trying to catch the Four Horsemen was actually the Fifth Horseman, a member of The Eye, and the one who recruited them.
Thus, the entire plot is revealed to have been Dylan’s conspiracy to bring down the alleged murderer of his father.
The verdict
All in all, Now You See Me makes for an entertaining watch. It's not the most thrilling thriller out there, though. At times, the plot's mystery seems artificial, but the characters' goofy-ness brings comic compensation.
Woody Harrelson's sense of humour fits with Merritt, the mentalist, and the other actors are decent, to say the least. Morgan Freeman unsurprisingly plays a paternal character. Fittingly, he's the movie's narrator, too. The magicians' tricks indeed have a perplexing effect in the film's best moments, and we have to admire the minimal use of CGI. For a magic-themed drama, it’s great that the visual effects do not steal the actor’s show.
Here is our verdict. Now You See Me is entertaining enough to keep you on your seat until the end but too mediocre to remain in your memory for too long. It's not an edge-of-your-seat thriller but a fleetingly fun flick.