Now You See Me

Usually films are easy to pigeon-hole which genre they belong to, but in the case of "Now You See Me", there's a little bit of everything in it, i.e. drama, action, a dash of comedy, and a bit of suspense all with dazzling visual effects. But this is what makes this film that much more appealing.

This story pits an elite FBI squad headed up by Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) and Interpol agent, Alma Dray (Melanie Laurent) in a game of cat and mouse against a super-team of great illusionists, "The Four Horsemen" consisting of J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson), Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher), and Jack Wilder (Dave Franco). They pull off a series of daring heists against corrupt business leaders including Arthur Tressler (Michael Caine) during their performances, showering the stolen profits on their audiences while staying one step ahead of the law. Rhodes finally decides to consult with Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman), an ex-magician who now is bent on exposing the extremely deceptive magicians, so Rhodes then can locate and expose "The Four Horsemen" for who they really are.

Others to round out the cast are Michael J. Kelly as Agent Fuller, Common as Evans, David Warshofsky as Cowan, Jose Garcia as Etienne Forcier, Jessica Lindsey as Hermia, Caitriona Balfe as Jasmine Tressler, and Stephanie Honore as Atlas Groupie.

This was slickly directed by Louis Leterrier ("The Transporter" '02, "Unleashed" '05, "Transporter" '05, "The Incredible Hulk" '08, "Clash of the Titans" '10). He works well with his actors, especially in an ensemble setting as this is, and he's not fearful of letting the actors 'go-for-it', counting on their expertise given the scene. It was written by Ed Solomon, Boaz Yankin, and Edward Ricourt based on a story by Yakin and Ricourt. Other than a few places where the script is a bit choppy, this story exceeded my expectations for a tight screenplay.

As one of the lines in the film states, "everybody loves a good magic trick", this film certainly delivers, whether one likes magic or not. I suspect that's the real reason this will be a crowd pleaser.

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                       Rated: PG-13                         116mins.