Here comes the much anticipated, long awaited sequel to 2013’s Now You See Me! Wait. Does anyone even remember that there was a first movie?
The first problem this unlikely film franchise has going against it is the cute title.
If you didn’t see the first movie, and you might have due to the silly title, it’s basically a heist film where the robberies are perpetrated by a group of stage magicians called The Horsemen. As you watch, you start seeing far grander schemes falling into place, some that are more elaborate than others. And if you haven’t seen the first movie but you’re trying to watch the second, you will be somewhat confused by the story because of this.
The events of the second movie are a directly the fallout of the actions of The Horsemen in the first. The people they screwed over have come for payback and The Horsemen now find themselves a step behind those they either victimized or inflicted justice upon. It kind of depends on your perspective.
One of the interesting angles of these movies is The Eye. Apparently, there is a group of Robin Hood-esque magicians who use their abilities to right societal wrongs.
I think.
The movies aren’t particularly clear on who The Eye are and what they do. For heist movies, there are a surprising number of layers and complexities to the story.
Most of the key cast have returned, except for Isla Fisher which left a hole in The Horsemen. Lizzy Caplan fills that space and actually adds a whimsical element sorely missing from the first movie. Unlike most of the characters in these movie, Caplan’s actually seems to enjoy being a magician. They rarely seem to be having fun so her spark lightens the mood. Ultimately, it’s a well-stocked cast, including Caplan, Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Mark Ruffalo, Dave Franco, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, and the newly added Daniel Radcliffe. Michael Caine is particularly menacing in this film. And the duality of Morgan Freeman’s character is both unexpected and engaging.
Harrelson is particularly amusing, playing his character’s twin brother. Each man is ridiculous in his own way and plays their part in the schemes. Harrelson is his own antagonist. And it’s damn funny.
This is one of those movies that has all the rights parts. A good cast. An inventive story. Intriguing twists. So why isn’t it doing better?
It’s a long movie for what it is supposed to be, over two hours in length. There are scenes that are expository, unnecessary, and long. There are times when it just drags. When it moves, it moves fast and requires a lot of explanation. And now we’re back to the unexpected levels. When you have magicians working as thieves to complete secret missions for a mysterious organization, constantly leaving the audience wondering who is running a game on who, a lot of unanswered questions are consistently left behind in the wake.
Sometimes that’s a good thing. It builds intrigue. Other times, it’s incredibly unsatisfying as you don’t get the answers you might need. Both scenarios are true in Now You See Me 2.
By the end of this movie, you have a slightly clearer picture of who and what The Eye is but nowhere near enough. They seem to be a massive organization with tentacles stretching everywhere. But we’ve still only caught glimpses of what this organization is, something that will hopefully come into focus in future films. But it’s not told in an intriguing enough way to bait us into wanting the answer. The narrative coyly dances around the answers too much, leaving the watcher confused and unsatisfied in regards to certain elements.
Now You See Me 2 has done reasonably well at the box office having just recently broken even. And that’s even counting international numbers. That may pick up yet as producers spent quite a bit of time in the movie pandering to Chinese audiences by setting much of the film in Macau. It actually works quite well for the story. Macau makes an excellent setting for the mysteries and intrigue surrounding a centuries old organization of magicians. And it’s not a city from the region frequently used in Western films like Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Beijing.
The move hasn’t paid off so far, though. But that is in part due to the fact Now You See Me 2 opened against Warcraft which has dominated Chinese box offices. Given time, Now You See Me 2 will hopefully turn out to be profitable, especially considering the future plans for the franchise.
Now You See Me 3 was reputedly already in development before Now You See Me 2 hit theatres. The Eye, The Horsemen, and the story surrounding it all will hopefully come into focus in future films.
Just don’t drag the reveal out for too long. It makes for a boring performance.