Now You See Me
/17th of 365.
The Prestige meets Catch Me If You Can, complete with Michael Caine.
In my review of Oblivion I talked about the power of a trailer to totally give away the plot devices a movie has in store. Now You See Me has a trailer that entices with a story that doesn't give everything away.
The magic done by The Four Horseman1 in the movie is mostly practical, but they do not go out of their way in order to explain how each trick is done. Woody Harrelson's character requires a leap of faith in his ability to hypnotize people quickly and easily. The rest of the characters are just good at their trade and we simply do not see their secrets.
Morgan Freeman is there to expose how the main characters are pulling off each of their tricks. The character has made a living on divulging how magicians do each illusion. He becomes a pseudo nemesis, but does not help the feds led by Mark Ruffalo. Ruffalo only believes in logical explanation and is balanced out by Interpol's Melanie Laurent's2 faith and belief in more than the cold hard facts. She is not a damsel in distress rather someone who relies on history and research over crime scene investigation and suspect interrogation.
The movie was entertaining all the way through and kept you guessing. It may have had one two many twists in the end, but the ending was satisfactory.
1. The group consists of Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson, and Little Franco.↩ 2. She was the female theater owner in Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds.↩
Judgement: Send away for it
1. The group consists of Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson, and Little Franco.↩ 2. She was the female theater owner in Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds.↩