The propulsive entertainment values in Now You See Me films lie in their technical and narrative dexterity, like a magician’s sleight of hand. Louis Leterrier pulled off these feats admirably in the first movie, combining the starry, game cast of young and old with the thrills of magic and heist tropes. Jon M. Chu then took over the directorial reign in the 2016 sequel (has it been that long already?), upped the ante by doubling the act to mostly mixed results. The second movie has its moments, notably the elaborate card-throwing scene, despite lacking the pizazz of Leterrier’s version.
Now, here comes the long-gestating third movie, marking another chapter that doesn’t stick with the same director. This round goes to Ruben Fleischer, whose inconsistent directorial efforts seen in Venom and Uncharted don’t exactly inspire confidence, even though I enjoyed his two Zombieland movies. Going in with zero expectations, I was surprised by the third movie’s better-than-expected result, to the point it upstages Jon M. Chu’s second movie and comes close to matching Leterrier’s still-superior effort.
So, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t doesn’t waste time getting us up to speed with Jesse Eisenberg’s J. Daniel Atlas and his gang – collectively known as the Four Horsemen – including Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson), Jack Wilder (Dave Franco), and Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher) making a comeback for a reunion show. The opening act, which curiously takes place in a warehouse, showcases the gang’s nifty magic tricks and illusions in front of enthusiastic audiences. It’s fun watching them back together, particularly with Fisher’s Henley re-joining the Four Horsemen after she’s nowhere to be seen in the second movie.
Their chemistry is undeniable, and kudos also go to Fleischer for staging the elaborate sequence with enough panache. The movie also introduces a new, younger generation of magicians, including Charlie (Justice Smith), Bosco Leroy (Dominic Sessa) and June (Ariana Greenblatt), who are later chosen by The Eye – the secret society made up of the world’s talented magicians – for a mission they can’t refuse. Led by Daniel, they will work together to steal a precious, enormous diamond that belongs to Veronika Vanderberg (Rosamund Pike), the South African leader of an international crime syndicate.
The mission first takes them to Antwerp, Belgium, as Fleischer works his magic by delivering one thrilling, elaborate set piece after another, beginning with the younger trio proving their skills from disguising to creating labyrinthine distractions. And of course, with Daniel showing a few tricks up his sleeve. The pace is energetic and rarely lets up, packing enough moving parts to keep you entertained. Fleischer clearly understood the assignment that a movie like this, even if it requires a huge suspension of disbelief, what matters the most is how verisimilar it’s going to turn out at the end.
The rest of the Four Horsemen soon join Daniel’s mission, leading them to a French chateau, allowing Fleischer and his behind-the-scenes team to make good use of the spacious interiors as a visual playground. At one point, there’s a scene revolving around an upside-down room that instantly reminds me of Inception. The action is equally top-notch, with Fleischer’s dynamic camerawork capturing the intricate stunts from Jack’s deft Gambit-style, card-throwing flips to June’s acrobatic martial arts skills. The movie is pretty much like a magic-trick version of Mission: Impossible, complete with the story’s globe-trotting adventure style.
Both recurring and younger cast play off each other well, while Rosamund Pike has a field day chewing scenery in the kind of a bitchy antagonist role that she’s perfected in Gone Girl. Even with her pronounced South African accent, which tends to sound distracting, she still manages to own the role like a badge of honor. Just about everyone here is having fun, but the same cannot be said for Morgan Freeman. He reprised his role as Thaddeus Bradley, and while it’s nice to see him back in the Now You See Me franchise for the third time, I can’t help noticing his character this time around being reduced to mostly spewing exposition. I hate to say this, but Freeman’s return is more like a mere paycheck role rather than something worthy of his acting caliber.
Beneath all the kinetic energy, Fleischer tries to inject some emotional weight here, resulting in a few scenes that slow down the momentum. The problem is, moments like this don’t exactly resonate as much as the movie’s crowd-pleasing stretches. This is especially true with the franchise not being adept when it comes to the dramatic side of things. Thankfully, such a shortcoming is forgivable since the good mostly outweighs the bad in Now You See Me: Now You Don’t.
