Fun to watch, but lacking.

Rating: 7/10 (25 June 2020)

"Now You See Me" is a brilliantly imagined plot line where a group of low-level magicians who call themselves "The Four Horsemen" pull off incredible heists during their own live shows, then reward the audience with the money. The crazy heists lead to a game of cat and magician with the F.B.I. It leaves a lot of space for a good story, but does it work? The cast's great chemistry, the film's one-of-a-kind plot and the tension between the feds made me think, "Now You See Me... but am I glad I did?" This movie will surely make you watch with wonder, weary and woe.
This film is a playful mystery thriller that won "Favorite Thriller" in the People's Choice Awards USA back in 2014. I definitely enjoyed the film but it was lacking in a lot of places. It almost seemed forced after the first heist and began to get repetitive. I also felt it was empty, flashy on the outside but just empty; it lacked character development and serious thought after the first heist. By the time we get to the final heist and the end of the film, there's just so many unanswered questions, you're thinking more about what happened in the previous scenes than what's actually happening now. This really made me
"The Four Horsemen'', Daniel Atlas, Henley Reeves, Meritt McKinney and Jack Wilder, each answer a summons to a mysterious location before they knew each other. One year on and they appear in Las Vegas doing a sold-out show sponsored by the rich Arthur Tressler where they rob a bank in Paris, live on stage in Las Vegas. The characters work well together but it can seem forced with them at some points (but I suppose when you rob banks, things will be stressful). The film overall needed to slow down, if you blink, you miss it. Going side by side with it not being paced the writers obviously liked leaving the audience wondering which is normally a great aspect but I'll say it again, too many questions were abandoned. Which made the film somewhat difficult to watch.
Jesse Eisenberg (Daniel Atlas) has starred in many other films, such as "Zombieland 1 & 2" and the animated "Rio 1 & 2" I liked the character he portrayed and believe he and actor Woody Harrelson (Meritt McKinney) carried the film. Harrelson has also been around, appearing in movies such as "Semi-Pro" and yes "Zombieland 1 & 2" alongside Eisenberg. His character is sarcastic and witty which brought the funny element to the film. The final character I really enjoyed was "Thaddius Bradley" played by the famous Morgan Freeman. He was the intel for the F.B.I. but was careful not to tell too much about everyone's favourite horsemen. From what I could tell, the camera work was excellent, and it really does have to be when you're filming magic.
I enjoyed the idea. The thought of magicians, robbing stores and causing absolute chaos worldwide is just a cool and fun idea to work with. It had me laughing and smiling but also had me intrigued and captivated. Out of the whole film though, one scene, in particular, stood out, at a show they were doing. The Horsemen were doing simple and low-level tricks until Reeves began doing acrobatic style moves inside a floating bubble, it was a really neat scene that stuck with me. By the end though, it felt unfinished, but there is a second film so that explains that feeling. Throughout the film, I definitely had "Oceans 11" in my head because of the similar cast and plot (not the magicians!)
The film would likely be enjoyed most by young adults and adults because it is the sort of thing I can imagine my grandparents complaining about throughout, so I'd steer clear of the older generation. It has been rated PG-13 due to mild sexual references and mild violence. Overall I do recommend this film but it won't be for everyone. Now You See Me? I'm glad I did.