Now You See Me (2013) Summit/Action-Thriller RT: 116 minutes Rated PG-13 (language, action violence, sexual content) Director: Louis Leterrier Screenplay: Ed Solomon, Boaz Yakin and Edward Ricourt Music: Brian Tyler Cinematography: Mitchell Amundsen and Larry Fong Release date: May 31, 2013 (US) Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Melanie Laurent, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Common, Michael J. Kelly, J. LaRose, David Warshofsky, Jessica Lindsey, Jose Garcia, Caitriona Balfe. $117.7M (US)/$351.7M (World)
Rating: ***
In much the same way a magician never reveals the secrets of his trade, a film critic doesn’t give away a movie’s biggest secrets. It’s in this spirit that I pledge not to give away any of the twists and turns in Now You See Me, a riveting new heist flick from director Louis Leterrier (The Transporter 1 & 2, Unleashed). And why would I? That would spoil all the fun and I certainly don’t want to be thought of as a plot spoiler.
Now You See Me is not your standard caper flick because the ones doing the dirty deeds are a group of magicians. What better way to rob a bank than by way of illusion. We all know that magic relies extensively on distraction, making the audience look to the left while the illusionists do their thing on the right. What if this same art was used to send the FBI looking in one place while the crime goes down in another place? Sounds pretty cool to me. It may not be the most believable of premises, but it sure makes for fine summer movie entertainment.
I was so thoroughly engrossed in Now You See Me that I barely noticed it ran for nearly two hours. That’s a far cry from the seemingly endless 100 minutes I spent watching After Earth earlier today. It’s all about pacing and Leterrier nails it. It moves at a brisk pace and holds the audience’s interest from start to finish simply by always keeping them guessing. How did they do it? Who’s pulling their strings? What end are they trying to achieve? These are the questions that raced through my mind as I watched the movie unfold.
A mysterious individual summons four magicians to an apartment in New York for some unknown reason. They are card wizard Daniel Atlas (Eisenberg, Zombieland), mentalist Merritt Osbourne (Harrelson, Natural Born Killers), young magician/con man Jack Wilder (Franco, 21 Jump Street) and sexy illusionist Henley Reeves (Fisher, Wedding Crashers). One year later, they’re performing a successful Las Vegas show as “The Four Horseman” for wealthy sponsor Arthur Tressler (Caine, The Dark Knight). Without going into too much detail, they pull an audience member on stage to help them perform a really major trick. Specifically, they plan to rob a bank in Paris. But is it really a trick? The money disappears from the bank vault and rains down on the audience.
The FBI, led by Agent Dylan Rhodes (Ruffalo, The Avengers), arrests the foursome and questions them. He demands to know how they did it, but they’re not talking and nobody can prove that they actually did it. There’s no other explanation other than magic and the FBI isn’t about to base their case on that. Rhodes is assisted by Interpol agent Alma Vargas (Laurent, Inglorious Basterds) who’s more open-minded about the art of magic than the skeptical American. Ex-magician Thaddeus Bradley (Freeman, The Dark Knight), who now makes his living disproving and debunking magic, offers to help Rhodes solve the case. I should also mention that a secret society of magicians known as “The Eye” factors into the plot. That’s all I’m going to tell you about the plot. The rest is a secret that shall only be revealed after you buy a ticket.
I understand that the cast had to learn to do a few simple magic tricks for this movie and I couldn’t be more pleased to hear it. It makes the proceedings a bit more realistic. Fancy special effects are no substitute for those neat little sleight-of-hand tricks that magicians perform on stage without that kind of help. What I find fascinating about Now You See Me is how it explains the illusions performed by the magicians/thieves. It’s the opposite of the Ricky Jay documentary I saw yesterday. The sleight-of-hand expert primarily known for his amazing card tricks refused to divulge any trade secrets citing the unwritten code of secrecy for magicians. I wonder what he might make of Now You See Me. I’m thinking that it would have been cool to cast him in the movie as he’s also a gifted actor (e.g. Boogie Nights, Heist).
Revealing how the magicians did it might be crucial to the plot, but at the same time it spoils the magic just a little tiny bit. Do people really want to know a great magician does any trick? I guess it depends on the person. Would it have made for a better movie if the makers had left a small amount of mystery? Not necessarily as audiences tend to want all loose ends tied up by movie’s end. This isn’t a criticism so much as it is an observation and shouldn’t affect your decision as to whether you see the movie or not.
In general, the cast does a good job but I think Ruffalo overdoes it a bit at times. It’s not enough that he looks like an unmade bed; he also tends to ham it up like he’s in some silly B-movie. Caine gets a little hammy too, but an actor of his caliber knows how to cover that up a little better. Leterrier maintains the suspense (and sense of fun) throughout and even throws in a few legitimately exciting chase sequences. The car chase is quite good even though it pales next to any given chase in Fast & Furious 6. I would say that Now You See Me is a good solid three-star movie. It’s no magic trick that it’s good; it’s simply a case of competent filmmaking.
