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Movie Review: Now You See Me

First it was vampires, then it was zombies and now it's heist films. Yes, crime capers seem to be the new fad that is popping up across the entertainment landscape. The Fast & Furious has resurrected their franchise into a box office juggernaut using their fast cars to steal some riches. You even saw The Hangover III mix the heist aspect into their latest installment, but with poor results. This week magicians get caught up in an international criminal score in the new film Now You See Me.

Now You See Me has a rag-tag group of magicians that are recruited for a show that is actually a front for their bank robbing schemes. The group includes two rock star like magicians (Jesse Eisenberg & Isla Fisher), a mentalist (Woody Harrelson) and a young street magician (Dave Franco). The quartet pull off a trick that leaves a bank $3 million poorer and gains the attention of Interpol and the FBI led by Mark Ruffalo. The group continues to thumb their noses at the authorities and a magician debunker played by the always reliable Morgan Freeman, ups the ante at each performance/heist.

Now You See Me pulls off the ultimate trick with the audience. They make magicians cool. Jesse Eisenberg is the leader of the foursome and shows he can be an arrogant jerk we actually root for. Isla Fisher shows off her fun and sexy side as the lone girl running with the boys. Woody Harrelson provides some laughs and shows that he and Eisenberg are a great odd couple. Even Dave Franco gets to steal some scenery during an exciting fight with Ruffalo which goes from hand-to-hand combat to a car chase in New York City. The actors seem to enjoy playing the tricksters and make the first three-quarters of the film very enjoyable.

Unfortunately it's the last act of Now You See Me where the magic wears off. The whole film leads up to the foursome's grand finale act in which you know there's a twist coming. When the twist does become apparent, it leaves you with many plot holes and questions concerning the characters purpose in their acts. Twist endings are polarizing. Not everyone likes the outcome and Now You See Me's twist left me feeling disappointed with the film which had been very enjoyable and fresh until the so-called big reveal. You may end up having a different opinion than mine concerning the plot twist so you may want to give Now You See Me a chance. Overall I give Now You See Me 2 1/2 out of 4 potatoes.

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