Rated: P13
Genre: Crime thriller
Running Time: 115 minutes
Director: Louis Leterrier
Writers: Ed Solomon, Boaz Yakin, Edward Ricourt
Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson, Mark Ruffalo, Michael Caine, Dave Franco
Synopsis: NOW YOU SEE ME pits an elite FBI squad in a game of cat and mouse against "The Four Horsemen", a super-team of the world's greatest illusionists. "The Four Horsemen" pull off a series of daring heists against corrupt business leaders during their performances, showering the stolen profits on their audiences while staying one step ahead of the law.
Verdict: Horrible trailers but surprisingly the film didn't turn out unwatchable. The concept definitely had a lot of potential as it manages to compel the audience to guess the plot and "tricks". The star-studded cast are, of course, amazing, particularly Mark Ruffalo. However, the mediocre direction and poor script have almost ruined it all. Why oh why did they have to hire a director and writers that have a record of bad movies? It's like as though they want Now You See Me to be a generic summer flick. It's was marketed as a film about magic but what you'd really get the most are Ocean's 11-like heist tricks. Teenagers would definitely enjoy it while the older ones may find it corny and a bit predictable. If you're disappointed with the lack of magic here, do check out these two other films: The Prestige (2006) and The Illusionist (2006).
Second opinion: "I like magic so for me it's fun to watch and thought that tricks are interesting" (girlfriend).
Malaysian censorship: I believe there's nothing to cut.
Rating: 2.5 / 5
[SPOILER SECTION BEGINS HERE]----------------------------------------------------------------
The ending... reveals that The Four Horsemen (Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson & Dave Franco) did everything as an audition to join "The Eye" (a secret ancient high-level magicians society or something like that) and Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo), the FBI agent who was trying to nail them in the entire film, was actually the mastermind of it all. Rhodes plotted everything to take revenge on Arthur Tressler and the French bank that caused the death of his father, and to frame Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman) and put him in jail for being an anti-illusionist asshole who exposes magic tricks for a living.
Plot holes & issues: The biggest issue have got to be the character Dylan Rhodes. He's a FBI agent, the mastermind of the entire plot and also seemingly the leader of "The Eye". Was being a FBI agent a part of his plan all along? If so, what a long journey he's taken just for this revenge. But if he was spending all that time being a cop, how was he able to become a member of "The Eye" as well? Supposedly, only highly skilled and well-known illusionists are invited. One of the film's own dialogues actually pointed out another issue: why would Interpol send Alma Vargas (Melanie Laurent), a newbie, alone to investigate on this major case? And then falls in love with the mastermind of the crimes so easily. It's also not understandable why The Four Horsemen are willing to become wanted criminals and leave their successful careers behind to be members of "The Eye". What happens after they join "The Eye"? Not explained in the movie. Lastly, if Tressler's bank account were so publicly robbed and transferred to the audience at the second magic show, shouldn't he be able to get the money back easily? As for Bradley, why would putting all the cash into the car be enough to put him in jail? It wouldn't stick. A good lawyer would be able to get him back out.
View 59 photo stills of Now You See Me here.
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