Review of Now You See Me 2 (2016) by Oleg I — 04 Jul 2016

Jon M. Chu takes the helm from Louis Leterrier (Transporter 1 & 2, The Incredible Hulk) and actually does a fine job of keeping the same style and magic of the first, better known for dance movies and music films like Step Up 2, LXD and G.I. Joe: Retaliation.

There's a sleight change of casting but the core is still very much there with the addition of Lizzy Caplan as cheeky, confident and a little crazy Lula, which is a good one with a very quick brush off for Isla Fisher and absolute no mention of Mélanie Laurent this time round. She was my favourite character from the first Cloverfield, so I'm glad to see her again.

Jesse Eisenberg and Dave Franco slip straight into their routine but we get a double helping of Woody Harrelson who pretty much, ridicules himself throughout the movie. Harry Potter goes rogue and does some bad wizardry proving Daniel Radcliffe actually makes a decent bad guy. It's Michael Caine who seems to be the weak link for this film, I wasn't sure if he wanted to be there. Freeman, like Ruffalo is here, there and everywhere. They all shuffle well together with the same funny, clever banter but some parts of the story and script are flawed.

Brian Tyler reprises his score which was so suiting for both films, being the type of music you would hear at a magic show. It's recognisable, majestic and illuminating.

Nothing really is what it seems, and you might spend most of the film guessing what's going to happen next. Everything all becomes very elaborate, so much so you actually forget what the whole point of the film is, who's who and where's it going and though mostly unpredictable and entertainingly so, the end might be anticlimactic for some.

There's a lot of needless dramatic action, and yes, it's all about the showmanship but it needs to be good showmanship at that and some of the action feels cheap and maybe too much, even for the horsemen. It's slick in places and nicely put together but it then starts to lose the magic and mystery towards the end even with some clever, massive reveals it just doesn't hit home. Reminded me of Sneakers at one stage.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed it like the first one, so fans should like it but I can see some people picking it to pieces. Now I've Seen It 2. Tada.

Running Time: 7.

The Cast: 8.

Performance: 8.

Direction: 6.

Story: 5.

Script: 6.

Creativity: 7.

Soundtrack: 8.

Job Description: 8.

The Extra Bonus Points: 0.

63% 6/10.

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