Now You See Me Now 2

Films about magic are always a crowd pleaser, because we are often asking, "how do those magicians do those tricks?" Couple this aspect with a sting operation, and you end up with "Now You See Me 2". This is basically the follow up of last year's "Now You See Me" whereas one group was 'stung' so now this is get back time--a kind of turn-the-table story with, of course, amazing visual effects.

One year after outwitting the FBI and winning the public's adulation with their Robin Hood-style magic spectacles, The Four Horsemen, J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson), Jack Wilder (Dave Franco) newcomer Lulu (Lizzy Caplan) and their leader Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) resurface for a comeback performance in hopes of exposing the unethical practices of a tech magnate. The man behind their vanishing act is no other than Walter Mabry (Daniel Radcliffe), a tech prodigy who threatens the Horsemen into pulling off their most impossible heist yet. Their only hope is to perform one last unprecedented stunt to clear their names and reveal the mastermind behind it all.

Others to round out the cast are Jay Chou as Li, Sanaa Lathan as Deputy Director Natalie Austin, Michael Caine as Arthur Tressler, Morgan Freeman as Thaddeus Bradley, David Warshofsky as Agent Cowan and Richard Laing as Lionel Shrike.

This was directed by a filmmaker that typically delves into the sensationalistic type films, Jon M. Chu ("Step Up 2: The Streets" '08, "Step Up 3D" '10, "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" '13, "Jem and the Holograms" '15) plus others. As compared to his other projects, this was a somewhat toned-down film unlike its counterpart--huge visual effects and lots of music and dancing. This was, in a way, within his comfort zone, but not really in some ways. The original was directed by Louis Leterrier, and even though the directors are different, there was that similar feel to each film. It was written by Ed Solomon based on a story by Solomon and Pete Chiarelli which is based on characters by Boaz Yakin and Edward Ricourt. What actually saves this film is the fact that Solomon wrote this as he did the original--talk about similarity. Solomon is a seasoned writer and knows how to capture his audience with a script he has delineated. "Now You See Me 3" has already been announced, so hopefully Solomon has signed over to pen that screenplay as well. With the exception of a couple of slow moments and a bit of choppiness, this storyline keeps the audience rolling right along. It was great to see the cast maximally intact with a couple of new characters as well.

This sky's the limit with this franchise as far as plot development is concerned, so with this consummate cast and tight-knit writing, this franchise could potentially go on as long as the audience is willing to plunk down that money to see a new 'act' unfold before our very eyes.

Out of 4 Stars: 3                                 Rated: PG-13                                   129mins.