Now You See Me
There's one rule of thumb you must obey before seeing this film, and that is avoid all spoilers whatsoever. This is the kind of movie built upon its plot keeping you guessing from beginning to end, and knowing anything in advance would ruin the fun. If you know anyone who wants to talk to you about the film before you see it, run off in the opposite direction and avoid said person until after you've seen the film, in the risk of having it spoiled for you. With that said, I'll have to do my part and tread carefully in this review so I don't give away too much. If you choose not to read this review until after you've seen the movie, I'll certainly understand.
If you're still reading this, you've either seen the film and are safe, or chose to ignore me. So, here we go. The film opens with an extended prologue that introduces four of our main characters - magicians and entertainers of different calibers who will be brought together under mysterious circumstances. They include a "control freak" street magician named J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), his former assistant who has now gone on to be a professional escape artist, Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher), washed up "mentalist" Merritt McKinny (Woody Harrelson), and illusionist con artist, Jack Wilder (Dave Franco). The four join forces to create an act called the Four Horsemen, and when we flash forward one year later, they are headlining a sold out Las Vegas arena show under the control of multi-millionaire Arthur Tressler (Michael Caine). We witness the grand finale of their show, which centers around robbing a bank in France while still on the stage in Vegas, and then making it rain money down upon the audience.
How did they do it? That's what FBI investigator Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) and his new partner, Interpol agent Alma Dray (Melanie Laurent), want to know. The four magicians are quickly arrested and brought in for questioning, but since there is no actual physical proof linking them to the theft, they are released hours later. As Dylan tries to wrap his mind over how these guys pulled off the crime without leaving any clues, he is approached by Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman), a former magician who now specializes in debunking magic. He seems to be tracking the Four Horsemen down for his own purposes. He also seems to know that the Vegas act was just the beginning of what will be a multi-city crime wave. That's all of the plot I care to reveal. You'll have to figure the rest out for yourself.
As a screenplay, Now You See Me is expertly crafted. It tells us just what we need to know, without getting too bogged down, so the movie feels like it's constantly moving. Even if the film isn't all that action heavy (there is a car chase late in the film and a couple fist fights, but that's about it), it still manages to have the adrenalin rush of your average summer blockbuster, and certainly feels a lot smarter than something like Fast and Furious 6. Do some of the characters suffer because of the fast pace of the film? Unfortunately, a little. But, the movie is almost two hours as it is, and if it slowed down, it probably would have been uneven or tedious. Besides, I think the characters of the Four Horsemen work better as enigmas. We're not really supposed to know much about their background, or their characters. It makes them all the more mysterious as anti-heroes who often manage to steal some people blind without them knowing, even right on the stage.
Even if the script could have filled in a few more details about these characters, the performances certainly cannot be faulted. Of the Four Horsemen, Jesse Eisenberg is easily the most interesting, giving a certain hidden intensity to his seemingly laid-back character. Mark Ruffalo also gets a lot of laughs with his portrayal of an increasingly flustered FBI agent, who starts out being at the top of his game, but by the end, has been fooled by these elaborate con jobs so many times, he seems to start doubting the world around him. And of course, there's Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman, both in supporting but important roles. No, the characters they're playing don't exactly present an acting challenge to these veterans, and yeah, they could probably do a movie like this in their sleep. But at least they seem to be involved, having fun, and not just simply waiting for the director to yell "cut". They seem to be enjoying this stuff as much as I was.
Now You See Me leads to an ending that certainly comes out of left field, but not in a way that hurts the film. Could it have been handled better? Absolutely. But, it doesn't leave you feeling angry. It's actually quite a clever wrap up, I just wanted to see it handled a little bit better. Don't worry, that's all that I'm going to say about it. I just had to get that bit off my chest. Like I said, the less you know about this movie, the more enjoyment you'll get out of it. This movie actually managed to fool me on more than one occasion, and keep me guessing pretty much all the way through. Yeah, there were certain moments where I knew I was being led down the wrong path intentionally, but for the most part, I was enjoying the feeling of not constantly being one step ahead of the characters. I see so many movies about people who have problems that could be solved if the screenplay just let them say what needed to be said. Here is one that plays it mostly smart.
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