Now You See Me: Fun, But A House Of Cards
Now You See Me asks it’s viewers to swallow quite a lot. And each individual’s take on the film will depend significantly on how hard they are willing to swallow what the filmmakers are pushing. I found myself having a fun time (and consistently so) throughout the runtime. But this is not a film that will hold up well under close scrutiny.
Writing this review a little bit behind the curve allows me to note that the film has done quite well at the box office thus far. I only bring this up because I found myself underwhelmed by the trailers for the film, but intrigued by what it was about this project that attracted such a stellar ensemble cast. Sure, there are lots of “paycheck” movies out there that don’t always warrant this type of question. But Now You See Me is clearly not a major star vehicle for anyone and the ensemble aspect means no single actor gets to really headline.
Regarding those trailers: I’m excited to report that they did a wonderful job of not giving away the entire film. I found that the entire thrust of the “caper” was kept hidden in these trailers, and I always appreciate that. So while the movie seemed to be selling me a smarmy Jesse Eisenberg headlining in a Robin Hood-style, Occupy Wall Street Magician caper, the movie is something more slippery than that. And yes, after having seen the film I can see why the various members of the ensemble cast were attracted to this project. As a Summer film it offers a little counter-programming to the family fare or tentpoles that multiplexes are mostly offering right now. But most of all, the ensemble has moments of fun for each cast member (and the audience) to sink their teeth into.
Now You See Me is a rapid fire movie that can be exhausting at times. The screenplay twists and turns and feels packed to the gills. This is par for the course for thrillers these days. There can’t just be one big twist… there has to be four or five. And I generally find that “twist thrillers” sacrifice a lot of common sense, clarity, and character development for the sake of the thrill. That is definitely the case here. Now You See Me paints its goals on giant billboards for the viewer: The closer you look, the less you’ll see.
The ads would have you believe that the movie is about a group of magicians called The Four Horsemen (made up of Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fischer, Woody Harrelson, and Dave Franco) who are robbing banks and giving the money to the poor. And that is kind of what the movie is about. But those four are just one thread of this densely populated mystery box. Also main characters are Mark Ruffalo and Melanie Laurent (Inglourious Basterds) as federal agent-types who are trying to bust the Horsemen… as it does appear that their robberies are real. Also highly significant to the plot is Morgan Freeman as an aging magician who now makes a living “outing” the secrets of other magicians for his own profit. He’s kind of the ambulance chasing lawyer of the magician world. Oh, Michael Caine also plays the Four Horsemen’s benefactor! (I told you this ensemble was ridiculous.)
I won’t dive into spoilers (of which there are many), so you are safe to read on if you haven’t seen the movie. But I will say that as the twists and turns rear their heads, nothing will be as it seems and events will feel less and less likely all along. And as I mentioned at the start, your willingness to swallow these developments will be the biggest gauge of whether or not you can enjoy this film.
The filmmakers’ succeed most often with this film when they focus on the fun. And there is a lot of that. Director Louis Letterier took a bit of a sandbox approach with Now You See Me in order to allow for all kinds of different beats. There are fight scenes, heists, car chases, illusions, mysteries, and beautiful people filling up every last frame of this film. And it seems like Letterier was having a blast with all of this. I particularly found myself charmed by an opening card trick from Eisenberg’s character that brings the audience in as the card trick’s mark. How did the filmmakers know which card I saw in the deck? I’m still not really sure! There is also a wonderfully vibrant fight/escape between Dave Franco’s character and Ruffalo that will forever have me pulling for Dave Franco to play Gambit in any future X-Men films.
But the most fun of all is the melding of stage magic and movie magic. Nothing is more fun for a film fan than when a special effect or camera trick totally stumps us. How did they do that? The same thrill awaits anyone attending a live magician show. The thrill of illusion and the undying desire to know how the illusionist pulled the wool over our eyes is almost an elemental desire in us. So the makers of Now You See Me get to play with the magic of live illusion and mix it with movie magic. It is fun and feels fresh, too.
The major problems come when the filmmakers steer away from the fun of it all and try to develop a mythology for the story. I’m normally the biggest sucker on earth for a good mythology. I’ve even been known to defend the Hatchet films for their fun-if-paper-thin mythology building, just to give you an idea of where I’m coming from. So what is my problem with the back story behind Now You See Me? Well, as I have said… the movie is packed tight. It never has a single second to breath or give any depth to it’s characters. Each person has moments to shine and wink or tell a great joke, but no one really gets to be anything more than one dimensional. So when the film tries to introduce some type of master class of ancient magicians called “The Eye”, who have hidden in the background throughout the annals of history… well, my eyes may or may not have rolled a couple dozen times.
And when the biggest of all the twists hits? It kind of just makes you wish you could go back an hour to that really fun, smart, winking little card trick that the film kicks off with. The light weight fun of the majority of the runtime of Now You See Me dissolves under a false sense of weightiness and “meaning” in the final act. It really doesn’t work.
But so much of Now You See Me feels fresh, light-hearted, and charming. I had a great time with this ensemble cast, all of whom perform anywhere from acceptably (Isla Fischer) to outstanding (Woody Harrelson and Melanie Laurent). And even if they didn’t approach a second dimension because the whiplash-inducing screenplay and perpetual-motion camera didn’t allow it, the actors rise up and charm the audience.
If you can swallow the existence of “The Eye” or any number of other head-scratchers that the film throws the audience’s way, the ending may very well feel totally satisfying to you. I doubt anyone will call Now You See Me an all-time great, but many will have a great time at the movies with this thing. Others? Those who aren’t buying what the screenwriters are selling? I could see this being a major slog to get through. I find myself somewhere in the middle. I had a fun time, I saw some fresh set pieces, and the story built up just enough good will in me to give the inevitable and silly ending a pass.
And I’m Out.