Friday, May 31, 2013

Review: Now You See Me

Now You See Me…and now you see an incredibly mediocre movie.

Now You See Me is the newest in a string of movies made in the past few years presenting a story about the world of stage magic, and it is probably about the worst of the bunch (oh wait, The Amazing Burt Wonderstone, that’s the worst. This is a step above that). This one sends FBI agent Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) and Interpol officer Alma Dray on a wild goose chase to capture a group of magicians who call themselves the Four Horsemen (Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Ilsa Fisher, and Dave Franco), whose big trick appears to be robbing banks in locations all over the world. Unfortunately for Rhodes, these conniving criminals are always several steps ahead of Rhodes, who is made a fool by their trickery. As Jesse Eisenberg’s character states, “the first rule of magic: always be the smartest guy in the room.”

The creators of Now You See Me have done a little magic of their own, making anything resembling interesting characters or development of those characters disappear before the audience’s very eyes. It’s a shame really, considering the load of capable talent that populates this movie, including Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine, and to a lesser extent, Woody Harrelson, Mark Ruffalo, and Jesse Eisenberg. None of these characters are made interesting enough to care about as you watch their crafty illusions and daring escapes, or, on the flip side, their foiled attempts to capture the crooks.

If the paper-thin characters aren’t bad enough, the movie houses a plot that’s almost as hard to believe as the idea that some of the tricks being performed in the movie are anything but CGI. It starts out simple and interesting enough, but it only gets crazier as the con gets bigger, leading to some moments in the movies back half that are too farfetched to take seriously, if you even care by the time it’s over.

Director Louis Leterrier (Clash of the Titans, The Hulk) doesn’t help matters, as he struggles to succeed in bringing the story home and relies on flashy visuals and quick cuts to trick the audience into forgetting the movie’s ridiculous premise.

I will say one of the few things the movie has going for it is the fact that the cast IS impressive. Woody Harrelson provides a few humorous moments, but the best part is being able to see a couple of scenes where Caine and Freeman face off against one another. It’s a real treat to see these two heavy hitters occupying the same screen space together, and the movie is almost worth it just for that, but the excitement of witnessing this union of acting giants is only temporary. In fact, if you want to see these two in a movie, you’re much better off going back to revisit The Dark Knight. I don’t recall that they have screen time together in that movie, but they’re both in it, and play more interesting characters. It’s a much better way to spend a couple hours.

Speaking of superior Christopher Nolan movies, instead of wasting your money on Now You See Me, which you would be perfectly fine renting when it is released on Blu-ray and DVD, do a double feature of The Dark Knight and The Prestige. That remains the greatest movie about magic and illusion ever made.  Now You See Me, with its lack of characterization and implausible plot, not so much.

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