If the news has proven anything recently, it’s that people love a good heist. The Louvre heist took social media by storm, and could not have come at a better time. The Now You See Me franchise combines heists with something that has captivated humanity throughout history: magic. The concept of magicians pulling off a heist is already a fun one, but is only elevated by these magicians acting as modern day Robin Hoods, stealing from the rich to give to the poor. When laid out, it’s pretty easy to see why so many people love these movies. Even at their very worst, they still manage to be an enjoyable watch. Is Now You See Me, Now You Don’t the franchise at its worst? Thankfully no, but there is a bit to discuss.
Nine years after the last installment, the Horsemen are back with some new faces, and a new director. Ruben Fleischer is a safe but fun choice to revitalize this franchise. He has worked with Eisenberg and Harrelson before on the two Zombieland movies, which were both received very positively. While his most recent work, Uncharted (2022) had more split reactions. He’s shown a passion for supernatural elements and adventure filled stories, something this franchise thrives on. That energy can definitely be felt in Now You See Me: Now You Don’t. With a runtime of only an hour and 54 minutes, this watch flies by. Reboots and sequels often find themselves overstaying their welcome, but it’s avoided here thanks to Fleischer.
Much of the original cast returns, some for more screen time than others. Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson are a joy to watch together in almost any movie, but especially when they’re playing characters they are having fun with. Dave Franco and Isla Fisher, while not given much to work with, bring so much energy to every scene they’re in. There are three new main additions to the Horsemen : Ariana Greenblatt, Dominic Sessa, and Justice Smith. Sessa’s performance took some getting used to, but by the end was a joy to watch. Of the new additions, Smith is given the most to do, and he does a great job throughout. Going forward if these three take the spotlight, the franchise will be in good hands.
Ask anyone who uses social media daily, and there’s a good chance they’ve had the vault robbery from Now You See Me 2 show up in their recommendations. Sequences from both prior movies tend to go viral every couple months and the explanation is simple, people love a good heist. Now You See Me: Now You Don’t tries a little too hard to one up themselves, which is fun at times and questionable at others. Simply put, the sequences here are a ton of fun. There is so much magic in this movie, from the casual sleight of hand during conversation, to the larger than life performances, there’s never a dull moment. A set piece in the second act provides some of the movie’s best moments back to back to back, which has the potential to go viral. Unfortunately that second act sequence is more fun than the “Grand Finale,” which felt unoriginal. The script even acknowledges this, and tries to play it off as part of the magic, which just doesn’t work.
This problem is prevalent throughout the movie. Bad writing is one thing, but pretending bad writing is part of the “illusion” stops working after the second or third time. Twist and turns are part of what makes heist movies so fun, but they can’t appear out of thin air. The audience is open to the magic, but trying to accept some of the plot explanations was a reach. When the main characters can essentially magic their way out of any situation, the stakes never feel that high. That being said, there were still some pleasant surprises throughout.
Despite having some of the weakest writing across all three movies, there is some praise worth giving. While this isn’t a full reboot, it has been nine years since these characters have been on the big screen, so calling it a reboot feels right. One of the most common mistakes reboots tend to make is poorly balancing legacy and new characters. Most of the time it feels like the legacy characters are on the poster to get people into seats, only for them to have less than five minutes of screen time. Now You See Me: Now You Don’t, in true magician fashion, perfects this balancing act. The entire cast both new and old is given something interesting to do, and a moment to shine.
Studios are constantly looking for the next big blockbuster, and recently that has meant looking to the past. It’s easy to see the mass appeal this franchise has to offer, and honestly it’s surprising it took Lionsgate this long to commit. Does this mean we can expect five movies, three spinoff shows, and an animated short in the next couple of years? Probably not, but if they continue to make movies of this quality, a fourth movie would gladly be welcomed. With fresh faces in the cast and a new director, it does seem likely. Now You See Me: Now You Don’t is dragged down by bad writing and poor dialogue, but accept those flaws as part of the magic, and it’s one of the most fun movies of the year.
