Now You See Me 2

Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Mark Ruffalo, Dave Franco, Daniel Radcliffe, Lizzy Caplan, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman
Directed by: Jon M. Chu
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy
2016

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: The Horsemen (Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco) emerge after a long absence and immediately are hunted by their enemies and the police.

Review:

Tim: I'm still a bit stunned by how much I enjoyed Now You See Me. It came out of nowhere to be one of my favorite movies of 2013. This sequel does represent the expected drop in quality, but I still had fun watching it. This is definitely a guilty pleasure movie- it really pushes the boundaries of our credulity, but despite its ridiculousness, it still offers a fun, entertaining time.

To enjoy these movies, you really have to just go with it. The idea of magicians as thieves is a fun one, but nothing you see here is all that rooted in reality. If you're unwilling or unable to suspend your disbelief, you will fine plenty to hate about this movie. For my part, I was able to overlook some of the weaker aspects of the film so I could still enjoy the overall story. Magicians using magic/illusions to pull off these daring, crazy stunts is entertaining, if you let it.

The cast is once again strong, but not quite as good as the first time around. I was so glad to see most of the main cast return- Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, and Dave Franco. These four are great fun together, they're solid actors, and they help elevate this movie beyond the expected level of quality. It was also wonderful to see supporting actors Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman return- these two plus the main four give us six quality actors in this cast. That helps the film immensely. Now, this movie does get hit for the loss of Isla Fisher. It's not fun to lose a cast member, and I wish she could have returned. Lizzy Caplan was an inspired choice for her replacement. While her introduction to the rest of the cast felt a bit forced, Caplan handled herself well and helped to mitigate the damage due to the loss of Fisher. I really loved the addition of Daniel Radcliffe. The guy comes to mind when you think of magic, so it was a wise choice. I really enjoyed his villainous turn- you don't see him doing that much, so it was a refreshing change of pace. You have to admit, although the story is absurd, these movies put together amazing casts.

It did feel like the stunts and tricks were a little more far-fetched this time around. Some of them are undeniably clever, some you just have to roll your eyes because they are impossible. One of the standout sequences is when the Horsemen infiltrate a high-security facility to steal cutting-edge technology. The scene is great fun and beyond all logic or realism. There were moments when I groaned at the absurdity of it, even while I laughed because it's so fun. It's a good illustration of this entire film- if you can look past the logic gaps, you can have an entertaining, enjoyable time.

Jon M. Chu does an okay job directing this film, but he clearly has less talent than Louis Leterrier. That hurts the movie. The script isn't quite as tight this time around. In short, Now You See Me 2 suffers from the very typical problems you see in most sequels. While this movie does represent a big drop in quality from the first film, it does enough that I still enjoyed the movie, even though I had a nagging feeling I shouldn't. Yes, this movie is silly and occasionally stupid, but it was fun and therefore, not too disappointing a sequel.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Now You See Me, Swiss Army Man