Now You See Me | Review
Director Louis Leterrier’s (‘The Incredible Hulk’ & ‘Clash of the Titans’) latest film was supposed to be an ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ type caper with magicians. I expected a lot out of this film mostly due to its impressive cast, but unfortunately it wastes every single one of them with its convoluted plotting, lack of character development, and stupid twist.
Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson, and Dave Franco portray The Four Horsemen, all magicians formed together from a mysterious benefactor. Though these four were advertised the most in the trailers, the film is really Mark Ruffalo’s story; he’s an FBI agent investigating the magicians after they successfully pull off a heist from a French bank.
The problem with this movie is that it’s always trying to keep you guessing on who you can or cannot trust. Why are the horsemen doing what they’re doing by committing all these crimes? Why are they stealing money without keeping any for themselves? Who’s the mysterious person who gathered the horsemen together? Morgan Freeman is also in the movie as an ex-magician who now makes money by revealing how other magicians’ tricks are done. Freeman’s character conflicts with Ruffalo’s as he’s also trying to find out the why regarding The Four Horsemen’s ultimate goal.
The great Michael Cain plays a rich guy who promotes the horsemen. And Melanie Laurent plays Ruffalo’s new assistant. There are many characters in this movie, but the film focuses so much time on its twists and turns to surprise the audience that it doesn’t develop the characters. We don’t grow to care about anyone. The Four Horsemen just seem like a bunch of assholes who can’t stand each other. Michael Cain disappears halfway in the movie. Ruffalo and Laurent’s characters apparently form romantic interest, but it’s contrived instead of natural. The plot twist at the end is surprising, but not necessarily satisfying. It was poorly set up and felt like a cop out. ‘Now You See Me’ is one of those movies where you spend a lot of time thinking about better movies, which, in my case, was ‘The Prestige’.