Now You See Me - I maghi del crimine

This is one of those movies that is somewhat entertaining upon first viewing but is easily forgettable and has nothing of substance to make a second viewing possible to enjoy. The plot is convoluted as we don't know what the main characters are doing or why. In fact, everything we know about the 4 magicians is revealed in the first 10 minutes of the movie and after that there is ZERO character development! The entire movie appears to have been made solely for the sake of the ending and yet it was so cliché that I was actually a little angry about the way they did it. It's unfortunate that in the filmmaker's attempts to be clever they neglected the most fundamental elements of storytelling: plot and character.

Like a magic show without magic, you may find yourself somewhat entertained but inevitably wind up disappointed in the end because they left out the most important part of the show.

Overall a showman of a film. Flashy, loud with bells and whistles and big personalities, an exciting premise... illusionists rob banks using (supposed) magic but the four horsemen are just puppets in a game, but the hype is more than the substance of the film itself.

You'd expect suspense, twists, intelligent plot misdirection and all sorts of thrilling viewing? No. This film tries to be a lot more intelligent than it actually is. Like Atlas (Eisenberg) says, "Always be the most intelligent person in the room" or something similar, this film thinks it is being intelligent but actually it's not challenging enough. It gives too much away, isn't as unpredictable as it should be (really, you couldn't see that ending coming?) and just isn't as clever as it promises. The tricks I really wanted explaining weren't... the ones that were more obvious, were explained. The ending actually isn't a denouement, as it's been laying clues all along - and anyone who's seen a lot of films can see the "twists" coming a mile away. I focus on the twists and reveal because as a heist movie, the end is the big reveal. But, unlike Oceans Eleven, for example, it has more or less handed it to you on a plate already.

The actors were good. Morgan Freeman and Woody Harrelson stealing the show, of course, with Dave Franco doing a bang up job with some incredible physical acting, stunts and so forth. I'm afraid Jesse Eisenberg didn't convince in his character and was annoying after a while, Franco rather underutilised really. Isla Fisher was good but clearly the "glamour" rather than a serious character, which was a shame as she was good.

This was supposed to be a big blockbuster film, big back drops, epic stunts and huge crowd scenes, but it failed to deliver. As heist/magic genre films go it's not that great, and The Prestige was far more cerebral and gripping. Entertaining to a point but I got a bit bored, and some of the scenes were too long - chases etc. If you are a fan of heist films or magic you'll enjoy it, or are a fan of particular actors, or will just enjoy it for what it is and don't want to be challenged intellectually, it's a great film. I think Hollywood endings are just too commonplace. 6/10 for me.

"First rule of magic: always be the smartest person in the room." J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg)

In the case of the magical little entertainment called Now You See Me, you don't have to be the smartest person in the audience to be charmed by the illogical "magic" of the tricks or the script. In a takeoff of traditional heist films and homage to recent films like The Incredible Burt Wonderstone and The Prestige, with a smattering of smart, sometimes humorous chatter, this film moves at rapid pace (French director Louis Leterrier knows how from his Transporter films) with a lack of seriousness about the tricks, which are mostly explained as the film moves on.

Those revelations will bother purists who don't want to know the secrets or critics who demand a reasonable arc for the story. Like the magic itself, the film eventually captures the imagination enough to suspend disbelief and just go with the fun.

The "four horsemen" (Atlas, played by Eisenberg; Merritt by Woody Harrelson; Henley by Isla Fisher; and Jack by Dave Franco) create three successive magic shows, one in Las Vegas, a second in New Orleans, and the third in New York. The stakes rise incrementally as they appear to be playing Robin Hood to their large, American-Idol type audiences by showering them with money from their magical heists. The FBI with Agent Dylan (Mark Ruffalo) is in hot but bungling pursuit.

As in most thrillers, there are minor twists, and the final one that stretches credulity, or that some will see coming, along with a hopper full of smaller ones even naïve I could see from far off. Besides, like the Oceans films' heists, it's not about the heist or the magic. It's about the slick magicians, their easy banter, and comeuppance for the real baddies.

Outrageous set pieces like the car race will disconcert those looking for a tightly-told narrative. The magic is as always questionable because film deals in magic with practically every frame. However, the cast is delightfully comic, the direction speedy and tricky, and the entire film wants you in on the magic. For a summer film, that's a magic formula.

Imagine Now You See Me as Ocean's Eleven meets The Prestige and you sort of get what director Louis Leterrier was going for with this film. Is Now You See Me as successful as the aforementioned films? Not necessarily, but it's a fun movie that deconstructs the acts of modern magicians.

The story follows four Vegas magicians, known as the Four Horsemen, who rob a bank in the middle of one of their shows. What follows is a cat-and-mouse thriller where the FBI chases after these magicians, always one step behind, trying to figure out how they did it.

Where Now You See Me works best is when Leterrier creates cinematic sequences showing us how these magicians used real-life magic tricks to befuddle and dupe both their victims and the FBI. As well, if you want a film with twists and turns, this one will not disappoint. While most of the major twists can be found out before revealed, there is still a joy in watching those twists unfold, thanks to Leterrier's Sherlock Holmes' style of visual deduction. However, the script often falters in one of the most crucial areas, that of character.

Leterrier and company are constantly trying to balance the breakneck pace with the large cast of characters, and it just leaves the characters hanging out to dry. Character development is sorely lacking in Now You See Me, to where I never really cared about any of the characters. Part of this is because the film is constantly shifting points of view. The first thirty minutes follow our Robin Hood-like magicians, and then it switches to the FBI agents tracking them down, but then the film has the magicians constantly one step in front of the FBI to the point that it makes the FBI often come across as buffoons, and I find it hard to care for characters who are so easily fooled. Ultimately, I feel that had the film focused entirely on one set of characters, like the magicians or the FBI, the film would have been stronger and been easier to find a focal point, but as it is the film's core is often muddled.

While Now You See Me may not be a grand slam, it's still entertaining, thanks to the thrills and visual style of the film. Bottom line, if you're a fan of the heist genre, you'll like this movie. For me though, it just lacks a further script rewrite to have become one of the best examples of the genre.

I give Now You See Me an 8 out of 10!

This is an interesting concept, surely not a genre played out much in Hollywood. The cast is jam packed with all stars giving great (but not their best) performances. The missing piece of the puzzle? Character development.

That's not to say that there is any lack of interesting characters, each of the four horsemen bring a very unique style to the movie (besides Henley, she's rather weak as a character), and the sheer amount of Talent present in each scene guarantees that you'll be entertained.

10/10? Hardly. But definitely a solid 8 for me. Entertaining, fun, and definitely a concept worth exploring on the big screen. Just remember, the closer you look, the less you'll actually see.