Film Review - Now You See Me: Now You Don’t

Images courtesy of Roadshow Films.

The original four horsemen return with some new faces in Now You See Me: Now You Don’t. Unfortunately, it's a trick you’ve already seen twice now, being the third movie in the Now You See Me Franchise after an almost 10-year hiatus from Now You See Me 2.

This time around, the franchise introduces a younger generation of magicians. While I’m happy to see Dominic Sessa in a new role in a big franchise after his acting debut in The Holdovers,  overall the three new members don’t bring much to their roles in the ensemble of horsemen. Justice Smith (I Saw the TV Glow, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom) as Charlie has probably the most interesting personality, both as a magician who prefers to remain behind the scenes and his personal stake in the story. Even so, they don’t leave the same impression as the original crew.  

Of the original horsemen, all of them make a return, including Isla Fisher (Wedding Crashers, Scooby Doo), who almost drowned on the set of the first movie during her opening underwater magic act, resulting in her choosing not to return for the second instalment. Her chemistry with the rest of the original cast remains the series’ strongest asset. The OGs bounce off the newcomers well enough, but with eight Horsemen now in play, the film begins to feel overcrowded.

Story-wise, the film echoes the second entry almost beat for beat. The Horsemen team up with the new illusionists to take down a global crime network run by Veronika Vanderberg, played by Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl, Die Another Day). Like the Saw franchise, Now You See Me seems committed to ending each film with a grand twist. But when it’s essentially the same twist every time, the surprise loses its spark. The predictability undercuts the magic, and the cliffhanger ending hints at future sequels that may continue recycling familiar tricks the audience now expects. 

Now You See Me: Know You Don’t is a magic act you’ve seen before. If you enjoyed it the first time, then you’ll probably still get some fun out of seeing it again. But once you know how the trick works, it's never as impressive the second or third time around. Probably its greatest illusion is that it will completely disappear from your memory after seeing it. It's not bad, but not good either; it just exists.                

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Now You See Me: Now You Don’t is screening in select cinemas now. For tickets and more info, click here.