Now You See Me: Now You Don't

 For my next trick, I'm going to tell you about Now You See Me: Now You Don't. I reviewed the first film over a decade ago, but for some reason, I skipped out on the second one in 2016. What did I miss?

Much like The Four Horsemen of the previous films, Charlie (Justice Smith), Bosco Leroy (Dominic Sessa), and June Rouclere (Ariana Greenblatt), stage Robin Hood-heists in the guise of magic shows. Not only that, but they digitally co-opt the Horsemens' likenesses for their heists. After one such heist, the trio are approached by J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), one of the actual Horsemen, for a mission.

Their mission, that they choose to accept, is to purloin the "Heart Diamond" from South African criminal tycoon Veronika Vanderberg (Rosamund Pike). They'll have to join up with the other Horsemen - Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson), Jack Wilder (Dave Franco), and Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher) - to pull this off. This will actually be The Horsemen's first heist in years, but Veronika plans to make it their last. Oh yeah, and somebody's also blackmailing her. That's about it.

For years, I mistakenly believed that Isla Fisher had been replaced by another actress as Henley in the second film. That other actress, Lizzy Caplan, actually played a different character, Lula May, who shows up well into this film. She makes a memorable entrance by freeing three of our heroes from a French police station with a surprisingly gruesome trick. Not only is her eccentric personality entertaining, but so are those of our heroes. It's fun to watch them show off, explore a chateau full of trick rooms, or simply enjoy some downtime. You'll just have to roll with some of the past plot points they bring up. 

One past plot point, the return of Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman), is a bit hard to take in going blind. In the first film, he was a magic debunker targeted by the Horsemen. In this film, he and the Horsemen are on friendly terms. Not only that, but he's part of "The Eye," a secret society of Robin Hood Magicians introduced in the first film. What happened between movies? Obviously, another movie that you'll have to watch to know. That aside, he's got some great chemistry with the combined Horsemen, and his death is a surprisingly effective gut-punch.

As I watched this film, I recalled being amazed twelve years ago by the Horsemen pulling off their tricks, escaping peril and seeing how they did it. I'm pleased to say this film has that same level of panache. Sure, some might not see the fun in these narratively invincible heroes. But I see the fun in seeing what kind of tricks they'll pull out of their sleeves. The final heist, for example, is an elaborate stunt involving a stolen racecar, a pretend trip to the desert, and a bullet-catch trick, among other things. The visual effects team's own magic is spectacular, especially in a oner full of the combined Horsemen pulling off multiple tricks. Production designer David Scheunemann's greatest achievement is the chateau, especially its Escher house of mirrors! 

And finally, we come to Veronika, who makes for a good villain. Yes, she's got an odd accent, which had me wondering if the character was supposed to be Dutch. Yes, she revels in being politely condescending. But that's not what makes her truly memorable. Those would be when our heroes, particularly Merritt and the mysterious blackmailer, get under her skin. You'll almost want to pity her in those moments. But by the end, you’ll remember why she’s the villain. Her mysterious blackmailer, meanwhile, turns out to be the most improbable character in the cast.

Now You See Me: Now You Don't, as a whole, is pretty improbable, but it's also pretty fun. Just don't think too much of it, and you might be amazed as 113 minutes disappear. You've got your choices this holiday season, and I think this one makes for a dazzling choice. Let's see what some of the other choices are.

I think I said enough.