An all star cast weaves together a magical mystery tour. We start off watching four struggling magicians as they are chosen by an unknown benefactor to become the greatest magic act of all time.
The story is fun to watch and it might have been a great movie if they had played it straight. The Prestige is an example of playing it straight, even though it had a decidedly crooked McGuffin. Now You See Me wants to debunk magic, but then insists on using CGI to perform many of the Four Horseman’s ‘illusions.’ You can’t explain the mechanics of a magic trick if there are no mechanics.
Of course, the magic is merely a side issue-a bit of misdirection-the real story is hidden from view until the very end. The reveal was pretty good, as it was slightly different than what I was expecting. All the nonsense about magic and Ra was a bit annoying.
Now You See Me‘s best feature was it’s cast. Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Mark Ruffalo, Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson are all great in roles that they seem perfectly comfortable playing. The costumes and sets are very good, so good that most of the time you never even notice them.
I liked Now You See Me.
