“Now You See Me” is a story about a group of magicians, who are brought together to perform several unimaginable tricks for a boss they don’t know.
The film begins with the recruitment of “The Four Horsemen,” as they are later known. A mysterious hooded person scouts out these individuals, leaving a tarot card with instructions on a meeting place. The magicians meet and discover blueprints to a massive magical trick. Each one of them possesses certain skill sets needed to complete the monstrous illusion.
J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), is a master of card tricks and naturally becomes the group leader, Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson) is a mentalist, Isla Fisher (Henley Reeves), an escape artist and Dave Franco (Jack Wilder), a petty thief who uses magic and illusions to grab his loot.
Thanks to their sponsor, Arthur Tressler (Michael Caine), The Four Horsemen become quite famous, performing in large arenas in Las Vegas, New Orleans and New York. The magicians catch the attention of the FBI and Interpol when they rob a bank in Paris during one of their live shows. FBI agent Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) and Interpol Agent, Alma Vargas (Melanie Laurent) begin chasing them from city to city and from show to show, trying to get a step ahead of them. However, The Four Horsemen’s masterful plan keeps them just out of the authorities reach. Therefore, Rhodes contacts magician debunker, Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman), to crack the case but Bradley spends most of his time commending The Four Horsemen on their tricks and shaking his head at Rhodes’ immature tactics.
From beginning to end, this film is just plain fun. The magic tricks are over-the-top and stunning on the big screen and the chase scenes–from a frantic foot race through the crowded streets of New Orleans during Mardi Gras to a dangerous car chase in New York—are very entertaining to watch.
“Now You See Me” is a fun, light hearted movie about believing in the impossible and, once in a while, letting a little magic into our lives…
