My sister can be a genius on certain occasions. One such occasion was when she convinced my entire family to see the heist film Now You See Me, as opposed to splitting up into smaller groups and viewing what probably would have been lesser movies. To be fair, I knew very little about the genre, and I had heard nothing of the director (Louis Leterrier) prior to stepping into that theater. The cast is mainstream enough, however, and those familiar with names like Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, and Woody Harrelson will find plenty of old faces here.
In fact, Now You See Me is one of those films that I like to call “star-studded,” as it also features the Dark Knight double-act of Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman! The basic storyline is simple enough to follow, yet like any good “magic” movie, there are plenty of surprises. Without giving anything away, I can say that this movie plays like a pop-culture version of The Prestige (a fantastic film that I just got around to seeing, and hope to review some day). Now You See Me is not light-hearted, but it is whimsical in the sense that its quartet of con-magicians laugh in the face of danger (and INTERPOL agents).
The “Four Horsemen,” as our antiheroes are called, (based on the Biblical story of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse) are played by the aforementioned Eisenberg and Harrelson, Isla Fisher, and Dave Franco. They are likeable in spite of their criminality–or perhaps it is the opposite: they are criminals in spite of being likeable people. After all, can’t we forgive a bank heist if the stolen money rains down on the audience? But they have bigger problems on their mind than moral scruples. Could there really be a “Fifth Horseman”? And can they pull off their third and final act in time to meet him?
The soundtrack left no impression on me, I am sorry to say, nor did the cinematography, for that matter. Things that did leave an impression were: several well-choreographed fight scenes (including a henchman’s hand getting stuck in a garbage disposal), a suspenseful and intricate ending, and an unnecessary but funny cameo by Conan O’Brien.
I don’t see them…
At this point, I guess one could ask, “What’s the point?” both of my review and the movie. Here is “the point,” for me at least: I tend to enjoy fraught dramas and epic fantasies, and Now You See Me is neither. It is a magician movie, but it is much more about the moral and legal consequences of using magic in a certain way. As any Hogwarts graduate should be able to tell you, some curses are unforgivable.
FINAL CUT:
This film tries to be intelligent and timely, but never in a pretentious way. And guess what? It succeeds…mostly. The explanation of the rumored “Fifth Horseman” just didn’t do it for me, though it was clearly well-thought out rather than tacked on. Jesse Eisenberg’s performance as J. Daniel Atlas, the “Horsemen”‘s young ringleader, so to speak, was hilarious and very impressive–that young man really has some talent, even if it seems to have mostly been devoted to comedy. The interrogation scene stuck with me for quite a while, until I saw an excerpt of it again on–where else?–Conan O’Brien’s show!
7.5/10
–IMPRESSIVE–
A Brief History of Some Films 