Review of Now You See Me 2 (2016) by Christopher E — 18 Aug 2016

Significantly less than its predecessor in more ways than one.

One year after their final performance, the horsemen are back in an attempt to expose a technical fraud. With a new addition to the group minus some old, they set out again to steal something using tricks, thievery, and wit.

The first film ended and left the audience with many questions. Many questions about the grand scheme of things, what all of this meant for the four horsemen, and what was next on their journey. If anything, the sequel should've built on that and expanded on that, but it turns out that this was a sequel that was better left unmade.

The only real bright spot in this film was the talent themselves. You've basically got the same cast back, minus Isla Fisher and plus Lizzy Caplan. It's still fun to see these people work together and bring plenty of enjoyment with their chemistry, but ultimately, it's not enough to make for another film. If anything, we don't get much more added depth to our favorites, and the focus shifts more toward the character of Rhodes. Not to say it's a bad thing, but it felt like an unbalanced shift that left its audiences with even more questions.

Also, Woody Harrelson's brother (in the movie) was the most useless and annoying addition possible. Enough said.

I actually enjoyed the first 20 minutes of the film itself. It had the fun comedy that the first film had, and it really possessed the same energy. But the minute the group landed in a different location (you know if you watched the film), it went downhill from there. The pacing dropped, the tone changed entirely, and everything got really messy.

The plot was so convoluted and ridiculous that in the end, none of it makes any sense at all to me. A lot of what happened didn't actually make sense and in the end, I'm still confused as to what was going on. No, that's not because the "magic" was confusing, but it's due to poor storytelling and a lacking narrative.

The magic aspect of the film wasn't even that impressive, to say the least. Compared to the first film, there are far less tricks and much less creativity than before. It was a mess and if anything, the finale was absolutely boring. I want to feel like I'm watching a world full of magic, tricks, and fun, which is exactly what the first film had. This movie failed to recreate any of that.

In the end, this movie was so messy and unnecessary in so many ways. Yes, some things are better left unsaid, just as some things are better left unmade.