In this sequel to the hit 2013 thriller, the team have regrouped, only to find they have gained more enemies actively pursuing their demise.
Films really are magic. At one point in time, films being magic was an accusation, rather than a compliment. When the first film, ‘Arrival Of A Train’ in 1895, was premiered, audience members screamed for their lives; believing a train was crashing through the screen with the assistance of witchcraft. The parallels between film and magic are numerous; both relying on showmanship, thrills, suspension of belief, tension, and big reveals. Taking its cues from the many tricks behind illusions, ‘Now You See Me 2’ conjures a fun thriller where the stakes don’t feel as high, but the suspense is much more gripping.
Since the original film, The Horsemen (Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson and Dave Franco) have been in hiding from the law for 12 months, waiting for orders from their leader Dylan (Mark Ruffalo) and the secret magical society The Eye. The wait was proving too much for Henley (Isla Fisher), leading her to leave the group; being replaced by gorier magician Lula (Lizzy Caplan).
The group finally come out of the shadows for a comeback performance, intending to expose the unethical practices of a tech magnate. However, the performance goes wrong, leading them to be captured by the mysterious Walter Mabry (Daniel Radcliffe), who has threatened The Horsemen into performing a heist for him. All of this is happening while Dylan’s identity has been exposed to his colleagues in the FBI, and Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman) has escaped to seek his revenge for being imprisoned by The Horsemen.
Much like the first film, the action is dazzling. Scenes where the characters are performing their operations are gripping; with the suspense doubling due to a combination of “will they make it out?” and “what will this magic trick lead to?” The formula is beautifully choreographed and captured during a scene where The Horsemen rely on sleight-of-hand card tricks to steal a prized computer chip. While the audience could see exactly where the card was going, from being tossed across the room to travelling from shirt sleeve to the other, the tension of them being caught made it impossible to turn away – with eyes glued to the screen the real magic. The reveals at the conclusion, from how the tricks were performed to big reveals about character motivations, are just as gasp-inducing as those of magicians.
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The new characters are slotted in quite well, and don’t jar with the others. Lizzy Caplan as Lula brings comic relief to the more serious Horsemen, especially with her preference for more violent magic. Daniel Radcliffe, however, plays brilliantly against type as Walter, with his sniveling obnoxiousness making you forget he was The Boy Who Lived. Audiences even get to witness Harrelson taking dual roles, playing both Merritt and his slimy and surgery-enhanced twin brother Chase. Harrelson has fun in both roles, which is infectious, but Chase doesn’t feel as integral to the plot.
While the characters are fun, attempts at further developing them feel rushed and incomplete, especially now the focus is on The Horsemen rather than those trying to capture them. The storylines introduced in order to do this are interesting, but are dropped quickly in favour of the action. Plotlines about the egos of The Horsemen being their weakness had the potential to create some real emotional pull, such as Atlas’ (Jesse Eisenberg) wanting to usurp leadership of the group from Dylan. But, its abandonment felt unsatisfying. The ego storyline works much better than others, such as a romantic subplot which feels forced, as the two characters lack the chemistry to pull it off.
While not having the character development expected of sequels, ‘Now You See Me 2’ still retains the excitement that made the original so much more refreshing than the “'Ocean’s Eleven' with magic” assumptions it was initially lumped with. ‘Now You See Me 2’ might be one of the few modern thrillers which is actually thrilling; fitting neatly with the lineage of all-star heist films such as ‘Sneakers’ and ‘The Italian Job’ it strives to be part of.
★★★ 1/3 playing cards (no, the rest of them aren’t behind your ear)
'Now You See Me 2' is in cinemas now.
