Now You See Me (2013) Review

This film looked good and I expected something clever and fun based off the trailer and story. Well after seeing it I got one of those, it was definitely fun but not very smart at all. The film was filled plot problems but runs at fast speed so you don’t notice many. The cast is alright and some are funny but the characters don’t get fleshed out and I couldn’t care less about them. The magic is weak and I expect smarter tricks than what I actually saw. I’ll go into much more detail below but for now bookmark this if you are waiting to see the film, leave any comments below, if you have seen the film then check out the spoiler sections and I will look forward to hearing everyone’s thoughts.

“If you could re-enact that look of absolute befuddlement, it would be perfect for the cover of my DVD.”

Plot:

NOW YOU SEE ME pits an elite FBI squad in a game of cat and mouse against “The Four Horsemen”, a super-team of the world’s greatest illusionists. “The Four Horsemen” pull off a series of daring heists against corrupt business leaders during their performances, showering the stolen profits on their audiences while staying one step ahead of the law.

Tim’s Film Reviews Recommended

Story: 70%     Acting: 65%     Characters: 60%     Dialogue: 70%

Mystery & Suspense: 50%     Style/Sound: 70%     Visuals: 80%

Total: 66%

The story is shockingly predictable but it doesn’t help that the characters basically tell you where it’s going, here’s the big clue “The closer you look, the less you see” using the films own logic it was really easy to figure it out and I did way too early! Half way through the damn film. The acting is pretty good even if I think that Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine where terribly wasted in this film. Mark Ruffalo had the most well fleshed character and even he was skin and bone, but my favourite character was played by Woody Harrelson and I’d have liked to have seen much more of him.

The dialogue was pretty weak with nothing really memorable; they had lots of opportunities to have some great dialogue but never made it happen. Magicians should be able to produce some fun and memorable lines after all they are on stage talking all the time but am afraid there really isn’t much at all. On the magic side of things how dull were these tricks, such a lack of imagination for this film. I’ve seen more tricks on Britain’s Got Talent and this had a fairly big budget for special effects. Of course that’s the problem with magic in films, I already know it’s all CGI but if Prestige can do it there’s really no excuse.

Trailer:

The best reviews I found would be these:

“At the end, it is a fun film that anybody can enjoy and have some fun with if they have the time to spare.” The Filmster. Full Review 

“The film keeps things fast paced in order to cover its deficiencies, and it is fairly fun if you’re willing to experience the film unquestioningly.” Fogs’ Movie Reviews. Full Review 

“I was never bored. I never checked my watch. I enjoyed some of the performances, particularly from Laurent. But there are just too many stinking flaws to give the movie a recommendation.” Keith and the Movies. Full Review 

“Now You See Me features an intriguing premise and a set of very entertaining performances from The Four Horsemen themselves, but an over-reliance on hollow twists and turns keep it from true greatness.” Rorschach Reviews. Full Review 

My favourite scene would be anything with Woody Harrelson in because he always made me laugh when he was on screen. Before you say I am just a Woody fan am not but he was good in the few scenes he appeared in in this film.