First Take: Now You See Me 2- how not to make a film about magic

SYPNOSIS- The Four Horsemen resurface and are forcibly recruited by a tech genius to pull off their most impossible heist yet.

Louis Leterrier’s surprise 2013 hit was adored by critics, so the inevitable sequel was expected- but we weren’t expecting a film like this. In a nutshell, it’s all over the shop. There’s good stuff, but the bad stuff outweighs it- and new director Jon M. Chu isn’t to blame for that.

The main issue lies with the script, as it doesn’t have the same flair that the first film used as it’s unique selling point, instead focusing on the traditional heist narrative structure and literally adding the magic in as an afterthought- and that’s evident in the over-use of CGI tricks compared to real, in-camera illusions. However, there are some brilliant performances from a stellar cast including Jesse Eisenberg, Dave Franco, Woody Harrelson and Mark Ruffalo, but the real surprises are Lizzy Caplan and Daniel Radcliffe, as their debuts in the film are handled very well. The cinematography is fine, and the score from Brian Tyler uses the familiar themes from the first film, but once the credits began, it felt very forgettable- and that didn’t happen with Now You See Me 1.

THE VERDICT

Now You See Me 2 just simply fails to deliver the same quality as the original, and even with some brilliant work from Lizzy Caplan and Daniel Radcliffe, it feels forgettable- and they’ve even left it wide open for a sequel.

Rating- 3.5/5