A surprise film that you should consider seeing is …
Now You See Me 2 (Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Lizzy Caplan, Dave Franco) – I hadn’t even heard of Now You See Me until I saw Jesse Eisenberg interviewed about this sequel. Intrigued, I watched the original and really enjoyed it. That led me to the theater to see Now You See Me 2, a star-studded magic-fest that boasts David Copperfield as a co-producer.
“Magic” movies have been a film staple with The Illusionist and The Prestige among the recent best. Even Woody Allen focused his film, Scoop, around magic. Now You See Me and its sequel combine amazing illusions with even more amazing computer graphics and movie magic to create an entertaining viewing experience.
Based on comic book characters, The Horsemen is a band of magicians who have been recruited by a mysterious, unseen benefactor known as “The Eye” to reveal bad guys doing bad things to good people. Once they get their assignments, the Horsemen concoct elaborate, magic-based, globally broadcast extravaganzas that reveal the villains. While immensely popular, The Horsemen are sought by the FBI for a variety of offenses. Not surprisingly given recent events, the FBI comes off as incompetent and easy foils of the illusionists.
Michael Caine and Daniel Radcliffe play the antagonists, Arthur Tressler and Walter Mabry. And then there is the mysterious Thaddeus Bradley, played by Morgan Freeman (reprising his role in the original), who has been tracking The Horsemen for years.
With that cast and great special effects, Now You See Me 2 and its predecessor are entertaining, spirited fun. So what is not to like about these films? Well, there are some problems. Woody Harrelson, as one of The Horsemen, meets our expectations. But he also plays his estranged, weird brother, who knows The Horsemen’s techniques and helps to expose them. This “evil twin” shtick just doesn’t work. Plus, a couple of the sequences are less magic and more camera sleight of hand.
While Jesse Eisenberg and Dave Franco reprise their roles as other Horsemen, Isla Fisher did not return. So the female role was turned over to Lizzy Caplan (who plays Virginia Johnson in Masters of Sex) in the most ill-defined character in the film.
While everything is incredibly improbable, you just need to suspend disbelief and go with the flow. These films are rated PG-13 with no nudity or sex and limited violence unlike most comic book films. I really enjoyed the original and while the sequel isn’t as good, it is still great fun for an afternoon.