The greatest trick of Now You See Me: Now You Don't is that its cast actually seems to like these movies
Sincerity and goofiness push the stuffed third entry closer to the Fast & Furious franchise - and that rocks.
Photo: Lionsgate
There’s no reason a third Now You See Me movie should exist. While the 2013 original and its 2016 follow-up both did well at the box office, they weren’t unstoppable cash cows. Nor was there a rabid fanbase demanding a nearly decade-later follow up to this story of do-gooder magicians pulling off improbable heists. But from the opening frames of the satisfyingly titled third installment, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t, it’s clear why this franchise was revived. The star-studded cast clearly loves making these movies together and that sense of enthusiasm goes a long way towards selling the knowingly ridiculous magic.
In an era where actors increasingly seem to play the franchise game solely for the paycheck, it’s a joy to watch performers happy to be there. Jesse Eisenberg’s turn as cocky yet charismatic showman J. Daniel Atlas is somehow his most transformative work to date, as if freeing himself from his anxiety-tinged public persona unlocks his inner classic leading man. And while his fellow magicians in Altas’ Four Houseman crew largely play heightened versions of their typical fare (Isla Fisher is bubbly, Dave Franco is charming, Woody Harrelson is stoned), that’s just as fun.
Especially because new franchise director Ruben Fleischer encourages the same sort of zany, character-centric energy that made Venom such a weirdo success story. No over-the-top acting choice is discouraged here, including Rosamund Pike doing an absolutely bananas South African accent as Veronika Vanderberg, the most smarmily two-faced female CEO this side of Bugonia. Having played a Bond girl at the start of her career, Pike now goes full Bond villain as a diamond mine heiress who helps war criminals and drug traffickers launder their money through the sale of her jewels. Naturally, it takes a team of magicians to stop her.
While the first two films got a little bogged down in subplots about law enforcement, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t doubles down on the magician angle instead. The film opens on a new trio of young illusionists (Dominic Sessa, Ariana Greenblatt, and Justice Smith) who’ve stepped in to fill the gap after the Four Horsemen somewhat acrimoniously disbanded in the wake of a heist gone wrong. But while it initially seems like this might be some kind of “next generation” spinoff with only occasional pop-ins from the bigger players, it’s not long before some mysterious tarot cards lead the original Horsemen to team up with the newbies.
