I’ve talked a lot recently about movies that didn’t need sequels. Now You See Me wasn’t one of those movies. I really wanted it to have a sequel but I wanted it to be good. The first one wasn’t great but it was very entertaining. I love magic and even though I know most of what they did was impossible, I was still able to suspend my disbelief and have fun. So did the sequel live up to the first one? Well, one look at the title of this blog will give you a hint.
I think I’ve made this joke before with a different movie, but you know what? It still applies. So here we go. The title for this movie should have been Now You See Me 2: Missed Opportunities. It could have been great. It could have been better than the first. From the looks of the trailers, the only downside was no Isla Fisher. I went in with high hopes though, as always, ready to be wrong and it’s a good thing I did. This movie was so close yet so far away from great.
If saw the first then you know the reason behind Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) actions. That resurfaces in the sequel as the writers tried to make a touching and heartbreaking side story. Too bad they failed. Lets be honest. You don’t go to see a movie like this for a deep plot. You go to watch a flashy action heist movie. That doesn’t mean there can’t be anything meaningful in the movie, but it would have come across better if they didn’t just shove the story in. It didn’t feel like Rhodes tale had any natural flow and that took away my ability to care at all.
The main plot was really good and would have been much better if it didn’t have this half hearted side story tacked onto it. Walter Marby (Daniel Radcliffe) was a great bad guy. He was charming but you could tell that he could snap and go darkside any moment. Radcliffe was great as Harry Potter but I want to see him play a true psychopath. I think he’d be fantastic. Now You See Me 2 gave me just a taste of what he could do. The writers did a good job with the main story and tied it together with the first one so it didn’t feel forced. The reason they gave for Isla Fisher not being in the movie was kind of cliche and I wish they gave it just a little more thought, but other than that the problem in the previous paragraph, the writing was alright.
Another problem I had was that I wanted more magic. Sure, there was some, but just enough to whet my appetite. The part with Jessie Eisenberg stopping the rain was awesome and the trailer didn’t show the whole thing so it wasn’t spoiled but some of the tricks they gave the others were stupid. The throwing card scene between the whole group, as shown in the trailer, was a really fun scene but it all wasn’t quite enough. I wanted one more big trick or anything else because they’re the Four Horsemen. Magician thieves. They supposed to do, you know, magic. There were some entertaining fight scenes where their skills as magicians were used to elude or take down bad guys. The magic was there in the movie, just not as much as I would have liked.
I have no complaints about the acting. I was worried about the addition of Lizzy Caplan (The Interview) because I wasn’t too familiar with her work and I wasn’t sure if they were making her an Isla Fisher clone. She turned out to be the comic relief and she was on point. I’ve already mentioned that Daniel Radcliffe did a good job so the only new face of note left was Jay Chou (The Green Hornet, Initial D) I don’t think he deserved to be mentioned on the poster at all. The fact that he’s featured on every poster is the only reason I’m mentioning him. He’s not a bad actor. There are no small roles, true, but when your name is featured in the advertisements, I expect a decent amount of screen time.
All the returning actors were good, as usual. Dave Franco (Neighbors, 21 Jump Street) was my favorite, just like he was in the first one. I think he’s an A list actor who’s relegated to B list roles with the occasional shove into the spotlight. I like him better than his brother James Franco (128 Hours, Spider-Man) so hopefully he’ll start getting recognized as a big player soon.
This was still a good movie, but only watch it if you saw, and liked, the first one. The visuals weren’t impressive enough to warrant a watch in the theaters but I think it’s worth your time to stream it or even buy it if the price is right. Hell, buy it and do a movie night double feature with both of them. Now You See Me 2 could have been so much better, but it also could have been a lot worse. It may not get the highest score, but at least it didn’t fall flat on its face.
Now You See Me 2 gets a 7.5 out of 11