Review of Now You See Me 2 (2016) by Colton Y — 02 Sep 2016

More of the same, a mediocre effort. Like with the first, I have a problem with how we're just forced to accept some of the things they do without explanation. I get that it would slow the film way down if they explained every little trick, but you can't just assume I'm okay with hand-waving any explanation as to how one of them is able to stop and redirect raindrops, for example. They frequently cheat the mystery aspect of magic by doing things that actually are impossible. Part of the intrigue and wonder of magic is being able to ask ones-self "how did they do that?" When the answer is "CGI," it's not as satisfying.

I like the idea of a heist film involving magic and/or participants skilled in the art of magic and deception, but heist films give us answers. Yeah, you did explain how you won in the end, but it's built on a foundation of impossible acts meant to support the possible ones. It can be entertaining, but ultimately doesn't work for me.