Now You See Me Review

Director: Louis Leterrier.

Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Melanie Laurent, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman.

Certificate: 12A.

Running Time: 115 minutes.

Synopsis: An FBI agent and an Interpol detective track a team of illusionists who pull off bank heists during their performances and reward their audiences with the money.

Whether you’ve grown up in a generation fascinated with the exploits of Harry Houdini, Paul Daniels (not a lot) or the genius mind-manipulator Derren Brown, magic and the art of illusion still astounds despite the efforts of rebellious individuals breaking the magicians’ code. Louis Leterrier, the French filmmaker behind the likes of effects-heavy CLASH OF THE TITANS remake and THE INCREDIBLE HULK, is an obvious fan of such things and his latest venture in Hollywood is easily his finest film to date.

Like the plot itself, Leterrier attempts sleight of hand in bringing together four uniquely skilled, if a little down on their luck illusionists. Eisenberg drops his overly neurotic nature to play the ego-driven showman (not too far away from his superbly slimy Zuckerberg). Harrelson’s perfectly cast as a cocksure mentalist, while Dave Franco and the foxy Isla Fisher lend capable support to make up the magical team mysteriously brought together and quickly transformed as the show-stopping Four Horsemen. Fast forward a full year, and we see their clever three-act series of shows that soon has the FBI perplexed; just how are they managing to steal millions and share the spoils with the paying public while seemingly never leaving the stage? It’s left to Agent Mark Ruffalo and Melanie Laurent’s interpol rookie to bring in Morgan Freeman’s debunker, Thaddeus Bradley, and work out how they’re pulling off such spectacular criminal feats.

It’s Ruffalo again who steals the show as the obsessive fed attempting to crack the case, drawing a lot of similarities from his role of Dave Toschi in David Fincher’s underrated and fact-based masterpiece, ZODIAC. Of course, it’s nowhere near as serious, and the fantastical element means his playful performance is a lot easier to digest for most viewers looking for a lighter touch. Michael Caine makes a departure from the often loveable roles he’s so lately familiar for as the smug moneyman fronting The Four Horsemen’s pyrotechnic-filled, dizzying opening spectacles and subsequent theatrics. Going back to Freeman’s exposer, he’s portrayed as the selfish, intemperate spoilsport working with whichever side favours him more while also acting as our (and Ruffalo’s) guide in certain respects.

Unlike Leterrier’s previous aforementioned efforts, the visual-effects are here to aide the storytelling as opposed to being inserted to pointlessly impress and throw money at the screen. However, they’re never a distraction despite the magical theme that focuses on misdirection. Like a conjurer and his sexy sidekick (think Debbie McGee twenty years ago, okay, thirty), Leterrier’s cast and direction keep you transfixed as the thrills escalate, all the while planting the seeds to later developments. It’s only in the final third that things become a little stale despite featuring the most action-packed moments in the movie. Still, there’s great fun to be had with a well-choreographed flying fistfight and a car chase that drives us into a surprising turn of events and a supernatural-esque conclusion that won’t work for everyone.

 NOW YOU SEE ME is released in UK cinemas on July 3rd.