Four magicians commit three 'impossible' crimes

Rating: 7/10 (12 May 2016)

In the opening scenes of this heist film we are introduced to four magicians; Danny Atlas, a street magician who entertains people with card tricks; Merritt McKinney, a hypnotist who uses his skills to blackmail people; Henley Reeves, an escapologist and Jack Wilder another street magician who uses his tricks to distract people while stealing their wallets. We see each of them perform a trick then find a tarot card; the messages on the cards bring them together in a New York apartment. Who brought them together is a mystery but one year later the four of them are putting on a show in Las Vegas under the name 'The Four Horsemen'. Here they perform an apparently impossible trick they use a member of the audience to rob a bank on the other side of the world! FBI Agent Dylan Rhodes is soon on the case alongside Alma Dray, a French Interpol agent. They are also being followed by Thaddeus Bradley, a former magician who now debunks other people's tricks. Their next trick involves emptying the bank account of their sponsor, millionaire Arthur Tressler and putting the cash into the accounts of the audience. After this they announce one more spectacular event which will take place in New York.
If you are looking for anything vaguely realistic then this isn't the film for you. Like many heist movies we are invited to sympathise with the criminals; not only are they likable it is made clear that the victims of their tricks a getting what they deserve. The pace is fast enough for us not to worry too much about just how implausible it really is. The cast, which includes some well-known stars, do a solid job and work well together. Like most good magic tricks this film relies on misdirection; while the viewers are concentrating on the Four Horsemen and trying to figure out how they are committing their crimes and how they will evade the authorities they won't be thinking about who is behind their operation and even if you are thinking about it suspicion is pointed at several possible characters and it obviously isn't anybody too likely. Overall I'd say that this is a fun, inoffensive heist movie that passes a couple of hours nicely.