“I’m Not a Hologram.” “That’s Exactly What a Hologram Would Say.”
I’ve been watching the Now You See Me movies so I’d be up to date when I joined some friends to see Now You See Me, Now You Don’t, the third in the franchise, in the theaters. While I wasn’t overly impressed with the first two, I still went along with them to see it. And it was more of the same for the franchise, which isn’t necessarily a good thing.
Despite a slick opening illusion, this movie opens to find that it’s been years since the Four Horseman have appeared together in any configuration. In fact, they have gone their separate ways. But they have three devotes, up and coming magicians, who are borrowing their stage presence and magic ability to do what the Four Horseman used to do, right wrongs using magic and questionable ethics. June, Bosco, and Charlie (Ariana Greenblatt, Dominic Sessa, and Justice Smith) have just pulled off a great stunt when their headquarters are infiltrated by Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), one of the original Horseman.
No, Atlas isn’t there to scold them. Or at least not completely. He’s there because he’s gotten a message that leads him to believe he needs to team up with them to steal the heart diamond. But stealing the diamond is just the beginning. Can the group stay one step ahead of the cops on their trails? Will teaming up with old faces and friends help?
Before we go any further, yes, the old gang is all here. We get Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, and Morgan Freeman, plus both Isla Fisher and Lizzy Caplan. It’s nice to see all of them again, and I loved how they worked the characters in.
However, that’s a lot of characters to balance, and not all of them got the character development they needed. That’s the issue with a requel (or legacy sequel, fans are divided on the term) like this. I mean, just bringing back the originals would have been a lot. Most of the characters do get some small moments to shine, however.
The particulars might have changed, but if you’ve seen the first two movies, you pretty much know what to expect here. We’re going to get some close calls and some magic along with plenty of action. The magic, in this case, is a little more crazy than realistic. But it’s still fun to watch and go along with the story as it unfolds.
Unfortunately, the movie takes a few moments to lecture and grandstand. They aren’t big moments, but they still bothered me. The movie would have been so much better without them.
And I was also really bothered by Isla Fisher’s character’s attitude toward what participating in the hijinks might mean for hear family. Seems like she could have thought through that better before she jumped in. Of course, I was happy to see her back in the franchise after sitting the second one out, so I’m certainly acting like a hypocrite myself.
Speaking of which, I did praise the second for continuing the storylines of the first. This time we get a completely new storyline, so you could really jump in here if you wanted to. And I enjoyed that instead of trying to force stuff from first two movies here where it wasn’t needed. There is a place for both kinds of sequels, and I appreciated that this one tried to tell a new story.
Nothing I’ve said here is the fault of the actors. They are all great at bringing their characters to life. Likewise, the stunts and effects are entertaining. A couple of times, the green screen was obvious, but for the most part, I got so caught up in the scene that I bought what I was seeing.
If you enjoy this franchise, you’ll be glad you watched Now You See Me, Now You Don’t. But if you are on the fence about these films, there is nothing here to change your mind.
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