Movie Review | Now You See Me ****

At first I was drawn to watch this movie purely because it features Dave Franco in its cast and not because the plot really appealed to me. However, after the first ten minutes, I was captured by the magic of the movie (no pun intended, the literal magic tricks).

The Plot, in the smallest nutshell possible

Now You See Me follows four magicians - J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher), Jack Wilder (Dave Franco) and Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson) - who are brought together, via Tarot Cards, by an unknown benefactor. One year later, they perform in Las Vegas as 'The Four Horseman'. For the finale of their act they invite a member of the audience to come on stage to help them with their next trick: robbing a bank. The man is seemingly teleported to a bank in Paris where he activates an airduct which vacuums the money up and showers the crowd in Las Vegas.

Everyone assumes that it is all for show but when it's discovered that the money has, in fact, been stolen FBI Agent Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) is called in to investigate the theft. Unable to find an explanation for The Horseman's trick other than magic he is forced to let them go.  Rhodes then meets Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman), an ex-magician who makes money by revealing the secrets behind other magicians' tricks and, with his help, pursues The Four Horseman in the hope to catch them out on their law breaking magic tricks.

There really is something for everyone with car chases, romance and magic the film really is jam packed.

My thoughts

I actually really enjoyed the movie and the only downside that I can think of is that they revealed how the magic tricks were done. If it had been left I think it would have added a bit more mystery but then again the whole idea of the film wouldn't have worked. 

Before writing this, I read a few other reviews from newspapers and such and I was surprised to see how negative they were. Lots said that the movie was slow and the first ten minutes was the only good part or that the plot was rubbish, even if the actors were good.

I don't agree with this. I don't think the movie was slow at all: to me there always seemed to be a piece of action right around the corner. Saying this though, during the movie the plot confused me a bit but then when finished I realised that it all made sense, so that was okay. Also if you watch the trailer beforehand, a lot of the plot and magic tricks are shown so leave less surprise for the movie.

My overall feelings for the movie are positive and I would recommend other people to go see it! I liked how they had four magicians which all had different areas of expertise. There were also lots of quips and jokes - particularly from Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson's characters, making the movie light hearted in serious scenes. But the ending...well that was a major plot twist! I'm not going to say what it is or it'll ruin the whole film, let's just say that it made my jaw drop...

I hope you like my review, leave a comment with your opinion if you've seen the film.

- Amy Caitlin xo