Movie Review: Now You See Me: Now You Don’t

By John Corrado

Now You See Me: Now You Don’t is the third film in the magic heist franchise, arriving nearly a decade after the second instalment to complete the trilogy that began with 2013’s Now You See Me and its 2016 sequel.

The fact that there is some hype for a third movie in this series shows the relative durability of the Now You See Me franchise, and the modest fanbase this series has built up over the past decade. Because, if these movies are inherently ridiculous and a little too convoluted probably even for their own good, they also provide a decent amount of enjoyable fun.

By fully embracing the goofy fun of the magic heist premise, and adding some fresh blood to it, Now You Don’t is probably the best one yet in the series. It delivers for the fans of the first two, but also finds a groove in terms of offering slick entertainment, combining the dual (and universal) pleasures of seeing a well-orchestrated magic trick and watching a heist movie.

The film sees the return of the original Four Horsemen, a group of magicians fronted by ringleader J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), mentalist Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson), sleight of hand master Jack Wilder (Dave Franco), and escape artist Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher, absent from the second film). The series is essentially built around the appeal of seeing these actors play off their usual personas; Eisenberg is the fast-talking nerd, Harrelson is the smooth operator, etc.

These magicians are treated like rockstars in the world of the films, performing dazzling shows in front of sold out crowds that also serve as cover for pulling off a series of Robin Hood heists in front of captive audiences. They are redistributing wealth, but doing so with performative flair and plenty of “cardistry,” as part of a secret society known as The Eye.

The Horsemen reunite and team up with a trio of scrappy young magicians; Bosco Leroy (Dominic Sessa), Charlie (Justice Smith) and June (Ariana Greenblatt), who are performing underground shows as a sort of unauthorized Horesemen tribute act. The old guard needs these new recruits to help them steal the priceless queen diamond from Veronika Vanderberg (Rosamund Pike), an icy heiress who runs an unethical company. Pike is giving her best Bond villain here, chewing up the screen with villainess flair.

The film reinvigorates the franchise by adding this new trio of illusionists to the mix, with the younger actors meshing well with the seasoned cast members. Sessa in particular lights up the screen, right from an early scene that sees him doing impressions of Eisenberg and his fellow co-stars. This is only his second role after making his debut in Alexander Payne’s modern classic The Holdovers, and he has the charisma of a movie star.

Notably, each of these three movies has had a different director; Louis Leterrier helmed the first one, while a pre-Wicked Jon M. Chu took over directing duties on the second. This time around, we have Zombieland filmmaker Ruben Fleischer guiding the ship, and he brings his own playful energy to the screen. Fleischer fully embraces the inherent ridiculousness of this franchise, which pushes actual magic and sleight of hand almost into the realm of fantasy.

Building off the chemistry of his ensemble cast, who all have an easy rapport together, Fleischer is able to stage a number of flashy set-pieces that deliver on the promise of seeing an illusion and then having the characters break down how they did the trick. It’s a surprisingly reliable gambit that toes the line between being mindless and clever. But the most impressive trick of all is how the Now You See Me series has been able to sustain itself long enough to deliver a breezy, all-in-good-fun third instalment like Now You Don’t.