From Las Vegas to New Orleans, New York and the streets of Paris, Louis Leterrier’s latest film Now You See Me follows an FBI agent (Mark Ruffalo) and Interpol detective (Mélanie Laurent) who attempt to track a four-strong team of illusionists – J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson), Helen Reeves (Isla Fisher) and Jack Wilder (Dave Franco) – nicknamed The Four Horsemen who publically pull off a series of seemingly impossible bank heists.
Now You See Me is for those after a light-hearted and fun film sans overly complex themes designed to challenge. The film’s thematic basis, however, does centre on the question of ‘is it just an illusion or is it actually magic?’ – a question that’ll keep you guessing right to the end, but of course that question never gets answered. While many of the more advanced tricks executed by our illusionists are obviously assisted by a little cinematographic magic, it’s satisfying to see Leterrier’s commercial Hollywood blockbuster attempting to keep as much of its farfetched storyline as realistic as possible.
And while unsurprising as it is that Leterrier’s latest has special effects coming out of its jacksy –what with his directorial history including the likes of The Incredible Hulk and Clash of the Titans to name but a few – his pulling power with the A-listers is still impressive. We’re talking Michael Caine as the multi-millionaire white-collar crook who falls victim to the illusionists heists, Morgan Freeman as the professional magic debunker and then there’s the blue chip cast of The Four Horsemen to boot.
Overall, Now You See Me is funny, fast-paced and captures the thrill value in illusionism. Sparkling, star-studded and special-effect-rife, the film is more caper than thriller, but if you’re a magic fan you’ll love the ride.
3/5 stars
BY JACK ARTHUR SMITH
Now You See Me is in cinemas now.
