Now You See Me: Now You Don't

So I finally watched Now You See Me 3, and let's just say... the plot pulled a disappearing act on creativity. The story feels recycled just like a magic trick you've seen one too many times at a kid's birthday party. Honestly, it made Now You See Me 2 look like a masterpiece in comparison.

I did enjoy the cast reunion - Isla Fisher back in action was a pleasant surprise but beyond that, everything was just... plain. If you're going to make fans wait nearly a decade, at least give us something worth the wait, not a rerun in a new hat.

The only illusion here is thinking this sequel was worth the wait.

I have just watched the third film in this series, set roughly 10 years after the last.

The whole movie is around 10 people bickering. It is exhausting to watch and listen to. This movie is definitely for a younger generation than the last as this sort of constant barrage of verbal intercourse reminds me more of college kids bantering than anything else.

So, regardless of that its okay. Nice to see the band back together. Nothing going to set the world alight here just okay.

We do end up with what feels like the 10 horsemen but feel free to disagree.

"Now You See Me 3" is by far the worst entry in the franchise.

While the second movie was already inferior to the first, at least it expanded the world and took the story in a new direction. With nine years to develop a sequel, you'd expect something fresh, ambitious, and worthy of the franchise. Instead, the filmmakers went for the laziest option possible: a blatant rehash of the first two films-especially the second-recycling the same story beats, structure, and even the same type of plot twist, just with different characters.

The movie is full of overused tropes executed in the most uninteresting way. The dialogue is poor, character interactions even poorer, and the new characters add nothing except clutter, stealing screen time from the main cast-who end up feeling like guests in their own franchise. Even the visuals feel tired and uninspired, which is especially disappointing given the potential of such a unique premise and the always-wonderful cast. With these characters and this setup, the film could have delivered inventive storytelling and striking set pieces-but it doesn't.

A fourth movie is teased, and if it ever happens, I sincerely hope they hire a writer and director interested in making the sequel this franchise actually deserves.

This has been years in the making and it's finally come out! Was it worth it? I suppose it was fun with the gang back together but it's more of the same you've seen before but less complex which is both a good and bad thing as the tricks are more realistic but it loses that intrigue and mysticism. Aside from that it springs a new generation of magicians along with the classic gang and watching them work side by side up until the big reveal is engaging. They clearly have fun with getting them all back together and the interactions after years make this worth a watch for sure. It leaves room for more at the end but they could stop right there if they wanted to.

The cast is the best thing with them all reunited. I love Jesse Eisenberg so I enjoy seeing him again. Newcomers like Justice Smith, Dominic Sessa and Ariana Greenblatt are all great charismatic new characters too. Rosamund Pike as the villain is cool just cause it's her anyway.

They have the song abracadabra in this by Lady Gaga so that's another cool thing!

Great to see them back on screen again regardless of it being more of the same stuff with less complexity.

Now You See Me 3 tries to recapture the spark that made the first film so enjoyable, but it ends up feeling like a tired illusion we've all seen too many times. The cast remains talented, yet even strong performances can't save a script that relies on increasingly absurd stunts and implausible tricks. The magic - once clever and grounded in spectacle - now feels hollow, more CGI than sleight of hand.

What's most frustrating is how detached everything feels. The film pushes surrealism to the point of disbelief, robbing it of the charm and intrigue that once defined the franchise. The surprise character reveal at the end feels cheap and unnecessary, a nostalgic gimmick that might have worked two decades ago but now only exposes budgetary shortcuts.

The plot twist, while mildly interesting, collapses under its own lack of logic - it's hard to invest when the story keeps bending reality for convenience. In the end, Now You See Me 3 is forgettable entertainment: flashy but empty, ambitious but weightless, and a disappointing end to a once-promising saga.