When you think about genre defining movie franchises, there aren’t many more impactful then that of Now You See Me, a camp high stakes set of heist stories that follow The Four Horsemen (Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher, Lizzy Caplan and often with the help of Mark Ruffalo and Morgan Freeman too) as they use the art of magic and illusion to take from the rich and give back to the poor. It’s often very Robin Hood meets Magic, and as a whole, the franchise has really set the tone of what audiences expect from a magic-focused film. Some hardcore magic fans may deny this, but there are very few other examples of franchises with such a high level of success that no other film has really tried to offer anything similar in style to audiences since the franchise began.
The latest, creatively titled Now You See Me Now You Don’t, comes nearly ten years after we’ve last seen The Horsemen on our screens and sees them joined by a new generation of illusionists (Justice Smith, Dominic Sessa, and Ariana Greenblatt) as they try to take down a worldwide criminal network led by Veronika Vanderberg (Rosamund Pike).
Off the bat, the film does incredibly well to maintain the same standard of swagger and style from the previous films despite the addition of a new Director to the franchise (Ruben Fleischer taking over from the likes of Jon M Chu and Louis Leterrier). The film hits every note you would expect from a Now You See Me picture, with the same soundtrack motifs and extravagant set pieces forming the heart of the film. It also could have been easy for the film to struggle to find the franchise’s fast-paced tempo, given the gap between the films, but it effortlessly finds the rhythm that once again makes for an incredibly entertaining two hours.
Certain franchises out there have signature moments you would expect to see when you go to the cinema to watch them, with the Jack Sparrow wacky narrow escapes in Pirates of the Caribbean being a good example that comes to mind. It’s the same with the Now You See Me films. The audience almost expects at this point that there will be an over-the-top sequence, involving fun magic, where the Horseman gets a one-up on the often exaggerated villain of the plot. Now You See Me Now You Don’t once again achieves this with a couple of great moments of shenanigans when they escape the gala, as well as when they’re in Abu Dhabi. Although neither quite replicates the card-throwing scene from the previous film.
One of the many reasons these films have been successful, outside of the strength of their style and stories, has been the energy of the cast and the chemistry between them. The Four Horsemen, in part due to their positions as world-famous illusionists, have always been incredibly charismatic and charming characters. However, when we meet them again at the start of this film, the Horsemen have split before the film due to various arguments and disagreements. This leads to some interesting dynamics within the story as they slowly begin to work together again for the first time in years, as well as the fact that the introduction of the three new illusionists throws a couple of spanners in the works. Bosco Leroy (Sessa) is the JD Atlas (Eisenberg) of the new illusionist group, with June (Greenblatt) being a sleight of hand like Jack (Franco) and Charlie (Smith) being the behind-the-scenes brains that bonds with Henley (Fisher).
All the cast give fantastic performances, with everyone clearly having a lot of fun in their roles, but Sessa, for me, stands out as the star. Not many characters go face-to-face successfully with JD Atlas in the films, but Bosco does it with such a cynical charm that gives his character a lot of presence and depth in his scenes, whilst also being incredibly entertaining to watch. Whilst the two groups do eventually work together, there is also quite a delightful competitive nature to watch in the early stages as the established Horsemen often don’t see why they should work with their younger counterparts, with Jack getting shown up by June early in the film.
At the beginning, JD Atlas talks about how we ‘need magic more than ever‘ and the film reaffirms this sentiment by offering audiences a triumphant return to their beloved franchise. Magic has never been more back, and hopefully the film opens the door for more Now You See Me films to come. It’s another entertaining masterclass in movie magic that will thrill audiences and leave them wanting more.
★★★★★
In UK cinemas on November 14th / Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher, Justice Smith, Dominic Sessa, Ariana Greenblatt, Rosamund Pike, Morgan Freeman / Lionsgate / 12A
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