The sequel to one of 2013's biggest hits, Now You See Me's sequel titled Now You See Me: The Second Act or Now You See Me 2 is a film that you will enjoy if you loved the original. Although the film has an impressive ensemble cast, the plot at many times seems too complicated to follow with multiple unrealistic events which make it a bit difficult for the average cinema-goer to follow.
Now You See Me 2 starts off after the events of the 2013 original film with the Four Horsemen currently in hiding with the help of a secret group of magicians called The Eye who help them use their talents. However, Jesse Eisenberg as Daniel Atlas is an eccentric yet restless fellow tired of waiting for his next order from The Eye who feels he can do a better job at leadership than Mark Ruffalo as Dylan Rhodes, their FBI mole and link. The team recruit a new team member in the form of Lizzy Caplan as the energetic Lula which adds to Atlas' annoyance.
Finally, when the orders do come in from The Eye, the team has no idea what they're getting into. The team is assigned to steal a data microchip from a tech entrepreneur which allows to hack into any computer in the world and enable data theft. However, as the Four Horsemen begin their performance and embark on their heist, their plans go awfully wrong and a mysterious figure in the form of Daniel Radcliffe as Walter Mabry reveals to the world Dave Franco as Jack Wilder is indeed alive after faking his death in the original film and remaining in hiding since then. As a result, Rhodes is exposed as the mole. How the Four Horsemen come out of the tangled mess forms the rest of the plot for Now You See Me 2.
The film has a stellar cast and they deliver to a T. Despite the film being reliant on the characters, the focus on the Four Horsemen isn't quite enough. The film has many good magic tricks and some that are just plain difficult to follow at times.
The action scenes are terrific leaving us spellbound. When you have a star cast in he form of Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Daniel Radcliffe, Lizzy Caplan, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman, all seasoned actors, you can be sure you're in for a treat. The new addition to the cast, Lizzy Caplan is a standout and steals the show in every scene she's featured in.
The biggest drawback for Now You See Me 2 has to be the fact that the film isn't realistic at all when you think about it. The fact that the Four Horsemen, who are referenced often as famous and international fugitives are allowed to walk in public freely. The magic although impressive seems a bit too much with CGI since it misleads from the intended trick the team are doing. The plot at times seems a bit too difficult to follow and this can be traced back to the fact that perhaps while writing the script for the film, it was intended to seem difficult. It is screenwriting 101 not to complicate things intentionally. One other important negative aspect of the film can be the characters themselves who choose to often remind audiences how smart they are. As harmless as it may seem, it starts to get a bit exasperating after a certain point of time.
Now You See Me 2 isn't bad and neither is it completely good. The film is definitely enjoyable if you manage to not evaluate it too much.
In short, Now You See Me 2 has its tricks, but falls short on leaving you dazzled with its magic.
Now You See Me 2 starts off after the events of the 2013 original film with the Four Horsemen currently in hiding with the help of a secret group of magicians called The Eye who help them use their talents. However, Jesse Eisenberg as Daniel Atlas is an eccentric yet restless fellow tired of waiting for his next order from The Eye who feels he can do a better job at leadership than Mark Ruffalo as Dylan Rhodes, their FBI mole and link. The team recruit a new team member in the form of Lizzy Caplan as the energetic Lula which adds to Atlas' annoyance.
Finally, when the orders do come in from The Eye, the team has no idea what they're getting into. The team is assigned to steal a data microchip from a tech entrepreneur which allows to hack into any computer in the world and enable data theft. However, as the Four Horsemen begin their performance and embark on their heist, their plans go awfully wrong and a mysterious figure in the form of Daniel Radcliffe as Walter Mabry reveals to the world Dave Franco as Jack Wilder is indeed alive after faking his death in the original film and remaining in hiding since then. As a result, Rhodes is exposed as the mole. How the Four Horsemen come out of the tangled mess forms the rest of the plot for Now You See Me 2.
The film has a stellar cast and they deliver to a T. Despite the film being reliant on the characters, the focus on the Four Horsemen isn't quite enough. The film has many good magic tricks and some that are just plain difficult to follow at times.
The action scenes are terrific leaving us spellbound. When you have a star cast in he form of Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Daniel Radcliffe, Lizzy Caplan, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman, all seasoned actors, you can be sure you're in for a treat. The new addition to the cast, Lizzy Caplan is a standout and steals the show in every scene she's featured in.
The biggest drawback for Now You See Me 2 has to be the fact that the film isn't realistic at all when you think about it. The fact that the Four Horsemen, who are referenced often as famous and international fugitives are allowed to walk in public freely. The magic although impressive seems a bit too much with CGI since it misleads from the intended trick the team are doing. The plot at times seems a bit too difficult to follow and this can be traced back to the fact that perhaps while writing the script for the film, it was intended to seem difficult. It is screenwriting 101 not to complicate things intentionally. One other important negative aspect of the film can be the characters themselves who choose to often remind audiences how smart they are. As harmless as it may seem, it starts to get a bit exasperating after a certain point of time.
Now You See Me 2 isn't bad and neither is it completely good. The film is definitely enjoyable if you manage to not evaluate it too much.
In short, Now You See Me 2 has its tricks, but falls short on leaving you dazzled with its magic.
