Normally, suspension of disbelief can suffice to maximize one’s viewing pleasure in illusionist films, which tend to capitalize on showmanship to camouflage the many plot holes of the story. However, the second act of the 2013 surprise hit, Now You See Me, requires a brain entirely shut off for one to endure the film ’till the end and still enjoy it. While the magical heists in Now You See Me 2 do reach new heights, they are spoiled with twists and turns that fail to make any lick of sense, leaving the audience half-bewildered and half-pissed.
Picking up a year after last year’s heist, the film finds the remaining members of The Four Horsemen–illusionist J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), hypnotist Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson) and street magician Jack Wilder (Dave Franco)–laying low and awaiting further instructions from The Eye, the secret society of magicians they’ve been recruited into. F.B.I. mole/ringleader Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) regroups them along with a new “horsewoman”, fake-violence specialist Lula May (Lizzy Caplan), to expose a corrupt businessman planning to launch a device that is claimed to be the “key to every computer system on the planet.” Meanwhile, tech mogul Walter Mabry (Daniel Radcliffe) wants the device for himself and bends the will of our rogue tricksters to pull off their toughest stunt yet in exchange for their freedom. Clueless as to his team’s whereabouts, Dylan is left with no choice but to ask for the help of Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman), a scheming magic debunker who he framed in the first film and who also happens to be plotting his revenge against the horsemen in ways they couldn’t expect.
Director Jon Chu maintains the sleek look and fast pace of the first film, showcasing, this time, more of the heists than the magic. Here, the magicians seem to have graduated from Robin Hoods showering cash to their audiences but to corporate whistleblowers using their illusions for a greater purpose. The plot itself involves more infiltration and theft that can be found in a Mission Impossible film, making the lack of real-life magical spectacle more glaring. Chu and screenwriter Ed Solomon, however, hurts the film’s credibility and betrays the profession by using “magic” that mostly passes here as “cheating-using-Hollywood-special-effects-and-wildly-implausible-writing-not-even-David-Blaine-can-accomplish.” That being said, there are two kinds of magic tricks here: tricks they don’t try to explain and tricks they agonizingly try to explain and you wish they haven’t.
The film could have been served better with a more straightforward and a more coherent plot than one that relies heavily on misdirection for the sake of cool on-screen visuals. Sure, a plot twist or two is a welcome pitch, but they should work within the confines of reality or at the very least the film’s version of reality so as not to appear preposterous and contrived. The biggest disappointment of this sequel is the “big reveal” towards the end, which is extremely unexpected and difficult to comprehend even if you have seen both films the same day. Yes, I have.
One can’t help but feel pity for Dylan Rhodes, the receiving end of all the ridiculous plot twists–his whole life might as well be a one big illusion. Despite his sloppily written story arc, Mark Ruffalo plays the character of an FBI agent turned Horsemen-sitter deftly, and delivers the emotional beats needed as the film’s true protagonist. He spends most of his screen time with Morgan Freeman, who seems to be the go-to actor in Hollywood if a character has to spout some debatable expositions and make it sound credible. Lizzy Caplan replacing Isla Fisher to offset an all-male ensemble can be either exhilarating or annoying depending on how you see the woman’s quirks. Daniel Radcliffe, despite growing a beard to earn his baddie look, does not sell his role effectively, due, perhaps, to a fictional character that he will be forever associated with (He’s Harry Potter, alright.). Jesse Eisenberg gets it right by supplying just the right amount of ego and awkward confidence required by his character. Woody Harrelson seems to have fun in playing dual roles–Merritt and his villainous twin brother, Chase, who seems to be a playful caricature of his “True Detective” co-star, Matthew McConaughey—alright, alright, alright.
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Arguably the showstopper in this movie is the elaborately choreographed scene of the magicians showcasing their “card-istry”, their ability to hide and flip around a card chip while subjected to extensive inspection. Although this sequence is highly entertaining, it is yet again way too complicated than it needs to be. Why do they have to toss the card around? Can’t just one person continuously hide it? How on earth can it slide through your body that easily? Again, all for the sake of looking cool on-screen. And since I’m already at it, here are more nitpicky observations that I’m sure every fault-finding viewer will catch: a trap door in the middle of a crowded street, a mirror suddenly appearing during a chase scene, a gizmo chip that can be real or fake depending on the situation, and two characters who can surprisingly speak Mandarin all for the sake of a mediocre laugh.
The problem with Now You See Mee 2 is the same one that dogged its predecessor: It is more interested in theatrics than logic. Alas, not even a sleight-of-hand can obscure the trouble that brews in its already convoluted plot which for certain will be shoved with more swords in the future installment. “Look closely because the closer you think you are, the less you’ll actually see.” Well, if you step back a bit, you’re not actually being fooled but you’re being scammed. Tah-dah!!!
