The closer you look the less there is

Rating: 6/10 (9 July 2014)

Flashy and hyperactive, "Now You See Me" has a fascinating premise and more layers than a babushka doll – but with maybe the most important layer missing.
French Interpol agent, Alma Dray (Mélanie Laurent), joins forces with FBI agent, Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo), to pursue The Four Horsemen, a group of illusionists led by Danny Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg) and Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson) who have stolen millions during their stage act.
Revelation is piled upon revelation until the elaborate and credulity-stretching plan behind the whole thing is revealed, wrapping everything up neatly.
Although it's enjoyable enough as it plays, there just doesn't appear to be that much chemistry between the characters. No one seems to click with anyone else – certainly not Mark Ruffalo and Mélanie Laurent. The only charisma on display comes from the two screen legends, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman, who are really only playing variations of themselves.
Whenever a long car chase is included in a film as there is in this one, I often wonder if it's to give the screenwriters a rest or because the filmmakers were worried that if they didn't charge things up the audience would lose interest and start text messaging. No matter how well filmed, automotive carnage, with a few classic exceptions, tends to relegate a movie to the by-the-numbers category.
Despite all the hidden clues in the film, the filmmakers opted for some easy formulas and off-the-rack characterisations. Take away Merritt McKinney's quirky hat and Danny Atlas' full hairdo, and the characters seem to have about the same personality. Possibly a calmer approach would have allowed a little more depth to the characters, and made the film a worthy companion piece to "The Illusionist" and "The Prestige".
However, it looks like everyone gets to have another stab at it; a sequel is now in production with the same actors, but a different director. I will be interested to see where they take it from here.