Entertaining, but the Ending is Contrived

Rating: 7/10 (4 September 2013)

Four very good Illusionists known as the Four Horsemen rob a bank in France while they are still in the United States, leave no clues and it is up to FBI Agents and Illusionist Exposer, Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman), to figure out how it was done.
The first 90% of the movie is captivating, riveting, engaging - yes, magical - and really quite good. I thought I might have to see it a second time to understand everything. But, there are subtle hints of something that went wrong years ago that became the actual focus of all that we see. In other words the twist at the end within the last 10%, was, IMHO, contrived and this is where the movie falls apart. I found it hard to swallow and when you get to know the characters, you may feel the same way too. To say more would be to give things away.
There are questions I would like to ask of the character Arthur Tressler (Michael Caine) but to do that here would give away too much. Sorry. Okay, here's the thing: I looked at him as the key to why everything worked the way it did, and my question to him would be: how did you become the Four Horsemen's benefactor? We were under the impression he was their banker. At the end of the movie you will surly have that question too because there is no way he can give a good answer: that was contrived too.
CGI played a huge factor and it was spectacular in places, but the car chase on the bridge actually made me dizzy. It was one of those things where they sped up the film to make it like the cars were going 90-mph when they were actually going about 5-mph, if that. See? A little gimmicky. The crash was CGI.
The heists or robberies that you will see are probably the most involved ever put on film. Kudos.
One interesting scene I saw was on a bridge in Paris, France. The screen alongside the bridge had key-locks all along it. I believe, if you have secrets, you are supposed to attach the lock to the wire fence and throw the key into the river below. Thus your secrets are forever safe. Or, for the amorous: they can lock their love forever. Cool. To see what is up with that bridge, Google: Bridge in France that has key locks attached to wire fencing.
All the actors performed well, and it will be up to you whether or not to believe them. Hey, these are professional actors and it's what they do: convincing you of what they say is true. Good luck.
Overall, this was still very entertaining, but contrived when you see the ending and because of that we shall never see sequels regarding the Four Illusionist Horsemen. At least I don't think so (never say never, Bob). (7/10)
Violence: Yes. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Language: No.