Populist Gramarye.

Rating: 6/10 (9 August 2014)

It's probably aimed at the same audience as some of Steven Spielberg's lighter works. Four magicians (or illusionists) combine forces to rob millions of dollars from an insurance scam, led by Michael Caine, who, baggy eyes or not, is still a presence to be dealt with on the screen. Ditto for Morgan Freeman as the debunker of magicians. Mark Ruffalo delivers a smooth performance as the New York City detective out to nail the Fab Four.
And Mélanie Laurent as the Interpol Agent after the same gang of miscreant youngsters is -- Wow.
If you subscribe to the concept of conventional beauty, she's got it. Only she doesn't smile much. Her default expression is searching and a little grim. Reminds me of a French concierge I once had to deal with. Makes me shudder to think of it. That wouldn't stop any normal man from throwing himself at her feet and worshiping her toes.
Of the four youthful illusionists, the least youthful, and the only one I recognized, was Woody Harrelson as a "mentalist" adept at intuiting facts from a person's expressions and body language. Of the other three, one of them, I think Jesse Eisenberg, speaks more quickly than I can think. Don't we already see enough of that on cable news and in commercials? Of course we don't want to bore the intended audience with elasticized phonemes.
I'm kind of skipping over the plot, I know, but for good reason. I couldn't follow it. Illusion follows illusion, the identities of the principals are peeled apart like layers of an onion, and some of the supposed tricks aren't tricks at all because the explanations that follow make no sense. Example: An ordinary mirror reflects the person looking at it, not a distorted image of what's behind it. Well -- doesn't it? Not in this movie. An illusionist here can see through the kind of mirror you have in your bathroom.
With respect to these magic tricks, it resembles "The Game," with Michael Douglas as the victim of a cruel conspiracy designed to turn him from a frigid ass into a mensch. Every trick pulled on poor Douglas must be planned perfect, right down to minor events that no one could have predicted would take place. Same here.
The only method of coping with this is to relax and allow the fantasy to flood your mind. You know, try not to think too hard. Just watch the images flashing by on the screen, and relish the Ooohs and Ahhhs from the audience. The epic musical score will help a lot. And since you will never understand the intricacies of the plot, why not indulge yourself with a dose of psychedelic tea? When it's all over, it will make looking into a kaleidoscope seem dull.