Now You See Me

Films revolving around magic and illusions are usually hit and miss. For every The Prestige there’s a Magicians. With Now You See Me being helmed by Louis Leterrier you’d assume this will be the cinematic equivalent of actually accidently sawing the woman in half, but Leterrier’s film is entertaining enough, though suspension of belief is a 100% requirement before, during and after watching. Four street magicians (Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco) are bought together by a mystery benefactor (in a scene reminiscent of something resembling a kiddies version of Saw) in order to become one of the top draws on the magic circuit. Things take a turn for the surreal however when a trick involving money being stolen from a Parisian bank turns out not to be a trick at all. FBI agent Mark Ruffalo is assigned the seemingly implausible case. Implausible being the operative word here as the script has many silly twists and turns and some scenes are outright ridiculous (a fight involving “magic”!). However, if you just go with it it’s a bit of fun that passes the time, aided by a script that moves things along and some throwaway laughs. This is arguably Leterrier’s best film (though the competition was hardly stiff), but he does little to suggest he’ll ever be an actor’s director as everyone just plays to type. With so many names in the cast (Morgan Freeman Michael Caine and Melanie Laurent are all also involved) it’s hardly a surprise that screen time for all is uneven and Fisher and Franco, despite being part of the main group, barely register. The big twist at the end is fair enough, but with a sequel already in the works, hopefully things will be a bit more coherently explained next time. Rating: 7/10.