Now You See Me 2 - directed by Jon M. Chu
Screenplay: Ed Solomon
Music Score by: Brian Tyler
Cinematography: Peter Deming
Edited by: Stan Salfas
Running Time: 129 minutes
Rated: M - Mild profanity
2013's "Now You See Me" announced its existence with a brilliant trailer.
It promised a movie filled with impossible tricks, sleight of hand, big names stars and most importantly the possibility that we would all be let in one the biggest secret of all- how did they do this?
When the movie itself arrived it largely fulfilled each of the promises and it was fun, goofy ride.
And if you were a willing participant in the big trick that movie itself was the huge implausibility of the whole thing didn't even matter.
The result?
on a budget of $75,000,000 the movie conjured up five times that in box office takings.
So here comes a sequel....
For the first thirty minutes of "Now You See Me 2" I was grinning from ear to ear having a great old time.
After a flashback to the failed trick that claimed the life of Dylan Rhodes' Father we are re-introduced to the Four Horseman.... well - three actually but more on that soon.
Jack Wilder (Dave Franco) is still in hiding after faking his own death.
He spends much of his time with Merritt (Woody Harrelson) teaching him card tricks.
Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg) is starting to feel that he should be the teams leader and has secretly been meeting with the mysterious 'The Eye' who ultimately rule over the Horseman.
And the fourth of their number Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher) has left.
This makes way for a new member - Lula (Lizzy Caplan) and her introduction is a gem of a scene.
Atlas returns home to his apartment to find her lying on his couch with a Rube Goldberg-esque machine activated upon his entry.
What follows is great fun and of course I will not be spoiling it here.
The point is that "Now You See Me 2" starts with such a flourish of delights from bursts of dialogue, to jokes, to neat little tricks played out right in front of our eyes that I was wondering how on earth it was going to be able to keep it up.
And it doesn't.
This film falls victim to its own premise.
Both this movie and its predecessor use the same plot structure.
They set up the characters and what they are capable of then show them in action and finally reveal that what you thought you saw is not what happened at all.
It's clever- using the structure of a real magic trick in the form of a movie plot about magic tricks.
It works for sure but the problem with this device when it comes to this sequel is that so much from the first film is revealed to be not exactly what we thought that it come perilously close to asking us to suspend our disbelief that little bit too far.
It's sort of a trick within a trick.
The pressure is huge of course because the audience knows what to expect now and is even more watchful and ready with a theory to second guess the filmmakers.
So they really bend and twist everything that we knew from the first film in and attempt to a) forge a sequel from a movie that was pretty well played out and b) stay at least one step ahead of an audience that is working hard to figure it out first.
The story is here is the tired old team must steal something for a mysterious person who has a hold over them lark.
Fortunately what these films have is a very, very good cast and watching them at work is a lot of the reason that this movie still works despite what appear to be fatal flaws.
The charm of the core cast makes up for a lot of sins and they sell the story superbly.
The banter between Harrelson and France and also Eisenberg was one of he best things about the first film and it is back again here.
Lizzy Caplan more than makes up for the absence of Isla Fisher.
I have been a fan for a while and I love her character in this film.
She is great in the 'bra' scene shown in the trailer and of course in her introduction scene.
It's a close call as to who is funnier - Harrelson or Caplan but I am inclined to give Lizzy the honours.
Everyone is good of course - even the newcomers.
I particularly liked Sanaa Lathan and wished that she had been given more screen time.
Henry Lloyd-Hughes is also a standout as a snooty security minded company employee charged with showing a high tech device to people hellbent on stealing it.
It's a very Mission: Impossible like sequence but with the addition of a far lighter tone and lots and lots of very nice little tricks and deceptions.
I became increasingly aware of how hard this movie was trying to justify its own existence.
The plot bears very little scrutiny before gaping holes appear.
Some of the steps that the heroes take along the way are just too iffy to be part of such an intricate plan.
Many things rely too much on chance and/or luck and should either not go their way the whole thing would come tumbling down.
But still- there is still a whole heap of fun to be had out of going on this ride.
It is entertaining watching the story play out looking for clues as to what the inevitable twist will be.
When it comes it is a little predictable and very unlikely but I didn't much care.
There are many scenes that work and the chemistry amongst the cast is spot on.
Director John Chu crafts a cohesive,visually appealing movie with great pacing and the two hours flew by for me.
Whatever faults that this movie has a lack of fun isn't one of them.
A third part is already in development so the studio is clearly confident that this formula has gas left in the tank.
They may be right - I liked this movie.
I guess you could say that the fun is in watching the trick - even if you know exactly how they did it.
That applies to seeing a woman sawn in half and it applies to "Now You See Me 2".
RATING: 76 / 100
CONCLUSION: Implausible, riddled with plot homes and far too wiling to reinvent the events of the first film to justify its plot tis film is still undeniably a lot of fun.
Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Lizzy Caplan, Jesse Eisenberg, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Daniel Radcliffe, Sanaa Lathan, Henry Lloyd-Hughes, Jay Chou, Justine Wachsberger, Alexander Cooper
Screenplay: Ed Solomon
Music Score by: Brian Tyler
Cinematography: Peter Deming
Edited by: Stan Salfas
Running Time: 129 minutes
Rated: M - Mild profanity
It promised a movie filled with impossible tricks, sleight of hand, big names stars and most importantly the possibility that we would all be let in one the biggest secret of all- how did they do this?
When the movie itself arrived it largely fulfilled each of the promises and it was fun, goofy ride.
And if you were a willing participant in the big trick that movie itself was the huge implausibility of the whole thing didn't even matter.
The result?
on a budget of $75,000,000 the movie conjured up five times that in box office takings.
So here comes a sequel....
For the first thirty minutes of "Now You See Me 2" I was grinning from ear to ear having a great old time.
After a flashback to the failed trick that claimed the life of Dylan Rhodes' Father we are re-introduced to the Four Horseman.... well - three actually but more on that soon.
Jack Wilder (Dave Franco) is still in hiding after faking his own death.
He spends much of his time with Merritt (Woody Harrelson) teaching him card tricks.
Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg) is starting to feel that he should be the teams leader and has secretly been meeting with the mysterious 'The Eye' who ultimately rule over the Horseman.
And the fourth of their number Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher) has left.
This makes way for a new member - Lula (Lizzy Caplan) and her introduction is a gem of a scene.
Atlas returns home to his apartment to find her lying on his couch with a Rube Goldberg-esque machine activated upon his entry.
What follows is great fun and of course I will not be spoiling it here.
The point is that "Now You See Me 2" starts with such a flourish of delights from bursts of dialogue, to jokes, to neat little tricks played out right in front of our eyes that I was wondering how on earth it was going to be able to keep it up.
And it doesn't.
 |
| The cast is the movies real strength with the great Lizzy Caplan a standout |
Both this movie and its predecessor use the same plot structure.
They set up the characters and what they are capable of then show them in action and finally reveal that what you thought you saw is not what happened at all.
It's clever- using the structure of a real magic trick in the form of a movie plot about magic tricks.
It works for sure but the problem with this device when it comes to this sequel is that so much from the first film is revealed to be not exactly what we thought that it come perilously close to asking us to suspend our disbelief that little bit too far.
It's sort of a trick within a trick.
The pressure is huge of course because the audience knows what to expect now and is even more watchful and ready with a theory to second guess the filmmakers.
So they really bend and twist everything that we knew from the first film in and attempt to a) forge a sequel from a movie that was pretty well played out and b) stay at least one step ahead of an audience that is working hard to figure it out first.
The story is here is the tired old team must steal something for a mysterious person who has a hold over them lark.
Fortunately what these films have is a very, very good cast and watching them at work is a lot of the reason that this movie still works despite what appear to be fatal flaws.
The charm of the core cast makes up for a lot of sins and they sell the story superbly.
The banter between Harrelson and France and also Eisenberg was one of he best things about the first film and it is back again here.
Lizzy Caplan more than makes up for the absence of Isla Fisher.
I have been a fan for a while and I love her character in this film.
She is great in the 'bra' scene shown in the trailer and of course in her introduction scene.
It's a close call as to who is funnier - Harrelson or Caplan but I am inclined to give Lizzy the honours.
Everyone is good of course - even the newcomers.
I particularly liked Sanaa Lathan and wished that she had been given more screen time.
Henry Lloyd-Hughes is also a standout as a snooty security minded company employee charged with showing a high tech device to people hellbent on stealing it.
It's a very Mission: Impossible like sequence but with the addition of a far lighter tone and lots and lots of very nice little tricks and deceptions.
 |
| The new cast members include Daniel Radcliffe, Jay Chou and Sanaa Lathan |
The plot bears very little scrutiny before gaping holes appear.
Some of the steps that the heroes take along the way are just too iffy to be part of such an intricate plan.
Many things rely too much on chance and/or luck and should either not go their way the whole thing would come tumbling down.
But still- there is still a whole heap of fun to be had out of going on this ride.
It is entertaining watching the story play out looking for clues as to what the inevitable twist will be.
When it comes it is a little predictable and very unlikely but I didn't much care.
There are many scenes that work and the chemistry amongst the cast is spot on.
Director John Chu crafts a cohesive,visually appealing movie with great pacing and the two hours flew by for me.
Whatever faults that this movie has a lack of fun isn't one of them.
A third part is already in development so the studio is clearly confident that this formula has gas left in the tank.
They may be right - I liked this movie.
I guess you could say that the fun is in watching the trick - even if you know exactly how they did it.
That applies to seeing a woman sawn in half and it applies to "Now You See Me 2".
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