‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t’ Doesn’t Conjure Up Much Magic
As J. Daniel Atlas states in this film, “In the world of magic, everything that disappears reappears.” The same rings true for the franchise itself, as Now You See Me: Now You Don’t marks the return of the film series after nearly 10 years. The mix of absolute absurdity within the confines of what a magic trick can truly be compared to straight-up wizardry matched with the slick espionage of heist sequences like the Oceans and Mission Impossible franchises is a captivating concept on the page; but none of the films have even delivered much of anything different from the blockbuster fluff that continues to plague many mainstream movies; unfortunately, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t never breaks the trend.
Now You See Me: Now You Don’t marks the true antithesis of the franchise, as it’s not difficult to see its appeal to the masses. Within the mind-bending illusions of magicians blended with occasional well-executed set pieces and the radiant charm from the cast that leads it. But when you sit within mountains of convoluted exposition and twists and turns that are more unnecessarily messy than clever. The tricks themselves, you start to realize, despite some moments of fun, have nothing of substance here besides smoke and mirrors.
What is Now You See Me: Now You Don’t about?
Just like the gap between actual films, it’s been 10 years since the four original Horsemen were last seen by the public eye. They’re finally making their return, or so it seems when, in reality, their return to the stage, which opens the film, is nothing but a hologram projection trick staged by three younger magicians, Bosco Leroy (Dominic Sessa), June (Ariana Greenblatt), and Charlie (Justice Smith).
When the three think they’ve gotten away scot-free, they come face-to-face with the real J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg). He, along with the other original four horsemen of Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher), Jack Wilder (Dave Franco), and Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson), has received a tarot card from the Eye instructing them to work with these younger magicians to stop a new threat, Veronika Vanderberg (Rosamund Pike).
Mrs. Vanderberg is a notorious criminal empire leader and a richly spoiled brat using her diamond empire as a money laundering front, harming anyone that is remotely in her path. Now it’s up to the horsemen of old to get along with a generation of new illusionists to stop Vanderberg’s empire by stealing her most prized diamond and showing the world yet again what the horsemen are capable of.
The film has the tricks but not the pizzazz
The positioning of this movie, being a blend of true close-up and clever magic mixed with heisting, should be a slam dunk, but where the film falls short is in the execution of it all. All the pieces are there for what should make for a fun heist of sorts, but it’s shocking how much less magic is used for the actual heists themselves in comparison to action sequences.
Sometimes the film can find ingenuity within the use of magician-like tricks, like Jack Wilder’s use of throwing cards as weapons or Henley’s knowledge of escaping dangerous traps of all sorts, almost like each magician has a superpower unique to them. Considering this, you’d expect to see more actual magic implemented creatively into more of these scenes, and while director Ruben Fleischer brings some creativity, it’s never enough to provide anything truly unique to heist movies or even this franchise.
Then there’s the central conceit of the magic itself, which is the main complaint of most detractors of these films. Absurdity can be more than welcome in any type of film, especially when there is enough creativity added within the tone to create something really engaging. Still, it’s hard to accept the “anything goes because it’s magic” rules whenever the film wants us to feel peril for these characters.
Even when characters are in life-and-death scenarios, it’s difficult to think there’s even a chance any of the main cast could be hurt when they’re essentially capable of wizardry; these movies work best when the magic is at its most grounded in reality. It’s hard to be surprised by nonsensical plot twists and logical leaps when virtually anything goes.
One aspect of the film that is more interesting is the generational divide between our older and younger horsemen. It’s something we’ve seen multiple times, even in other long-awaited returns of franchises, but the performers make the most of their presence.
It’s fun to see Eisenberg butt heads with the younger cast members, and even though there’s always the query of if there are too many horsemen now (especially considering surprise cameos), the solid chemistry between most of the cast keeps the film from sinking further.
Final thoughts on Now You See Me: Now You Don’t
Now You See Me: Now You Don’t, in some ways, offers the most interesting ideas of the franchise, making the most of its central concept, but unfortunately, the issues these films are known for outweigh them.
With one glaring contrivance after another and weak twists and turns that are more predictable than the film would have you believe, just like magicians themselves, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t will disappear from the mind in the blink of an eye.
Also check out Roofman: An Absolute Charmer That’s an Enduring Portrait of A True Story
