Review of Now You See Me (2013) by Spangle — 05 Feb 2017

Now You See Me is a tough film. Undeniably, it is entertaining. Its tricky magicians put on one hell of a show and manage to distract the audience just enough to make you look away from the clunky execution of filmmaking behind the scenes. Its characters are bad. Its plot is cliche. Once you figure out what the trick up the film's sleeve is, the magic does disappear some. Plotholes, likely, abound. Yet, the sleight of hand and wool over our eyes is thoroughly enjoyable. It is fun to be tricked in this way because of the show that goes on. The reveal, the mystery, and the entire show put on by the film is more than enough to make me not overly concerned about the film's faults under the hood. The thing runs on pure adrenaline, even if the engine is bone dry and the brakes are shot.

With a great cast turning in charismatic performances, this fervent energy put forth by Now You See Me is greatly impacted by this cast. Having a great time, this large cast of talented actors have minor characters to chew on, but they play them incredibly well and breathe life into this film. While director Louis Letterier is largely struggling to keep up with the magic of the tale, the actors are always game and hamming it up in their roles. In particular, Woody Harrelson is perfectly cast and his performance underscores why he is perfect for this wise cracking mentalist. Alongside him, Jesse Eisenberg is great as a self-assured jerk, which is another great piece of casting. That said, how dare he call Isla Fisher fat. Has he seen her? If she's fat, then every woman is fat. That said, the fun lines and actors do blind us to how horrible these characters truly are. They are not paper thin, they are non-existent. The casting is so good because the actors just act according to their typecast. There is no nuance and no character development.

The plot, likewise, is all a ruse. The compelling premise is great and Letterier has a lot of fun with it throughout the film. Constant twists and surprises along the way keep the film feeling fresh and engaging. It is a film with a great imagination and lots of tricks in its bag. However, it does all cover up a thin plot. The end result is hard to wrap your brain around, half because the distractions and magic were so good and half because the plot makes no sense. The former outweighs the latter, however, because of the aforementioned energy and adrenaline of the film. Without this energy, the problems would be far more detrimental than they are, but it is hard to deny that the film is incredibly entertaining with the mystery and confusion of the plot being nothing more than part of its appeal. A good magic trick leaves you guessing and shocked with no clue as how it was pulled off. The film itself is just like this with the film being more about the experience and tricks it pulls, instead of whatever is up its sleeves.

The film does suffer from the bad romance between Mark Ruffalo and Melanie Laurent. They have some chemistry, but it is very cheesy and adds nothing to the film whatsoever. It is not cute and it does not add depth. It merely distracts from the good part of the film - the magic - and makes me realize just how truly awful this film is and deserves to be derided far more than it was. Fortunately, this is only a small part of the film so I can write it off and move it out of my mind while focusing on the more positive aspects of this film.

A bad, thinly plotted, thinly written, and distracting film, the greatest trick Now You See Me pulls it making me thoroughly enjoy it. For all of its faults, the film is the kind of summer film with serious pizzazz that rides on the charisma of its actors and the magic it creates. Now You See Me may not be good, but it is incredibly fun with infectious energy that makes you willing to look past its litany of faults.