Movie Review: Now You See Me

Movies about magic often take the fun out of magic, take the illusion and turn it into a spectacle of its own.  This movie is little different, but with less involving characters and a shoe-string plot, the thing that brings you to the theatre are the special effects and little more.  At the time, I found myself very entertained, but as the day wore on, I felt the movie had less and less staying power.

The story follows four magicians who have hit hard times, none able to deliver the tricks they had in the past, all of them suffering from a bad economy and a public that doesn’t believe in magic, or believes in paying for quality magic.  Each magician has his own skill, together putting together a trick that sees a bank being seemingly robbed and money materialise into bank accounts without their involvement.  The tricks are increasingly elaborate, none truly explained to a satisfactory manner, but enough to keep the audience sated.  The story uses a multitude of narrators, a washed-up magician who is working with the police as well as the magicians themselves.

Without giving away the ending, the movie keeps you engaged, but doesn’t give you anything that truly makes the story stand out.  I thought a lot about other movies about magic I’d seen and still Prestige is the best.  The actors were truly remarkable and the magic tricks were truly magical.  In this movie, the acting was passable, the story draining with its convoluted twists and turns. I respect Hollywood for trying to produce something new, but with no payoff at the end, the movie fell flat.  The current fare in the theatre isn’t great, making this movie worth seeing, but overall, it was mediocre at best.