Monday 6 June 2016

Film Review: Now You See Me 2


Now You See Me 2 is a forgettable sequel that fails to live up to the magic of the original.

The first Now You See Me film was an unexpected success in the summer of 2013; despite mixed reviews, it somehow conjured up a sizeable pile of cash at the box-office, and you know what that means – ding, ding, ding – time for a sequel!

Directed by Jon M. Chu (Step Up 3), Now You See Me 2 sees our heroes, the world-famous quartet of magicians known as the Horsemen, lured out of hiding and tasked with aiding a mysterious millionaire (Daniel Radcliffe) with an audacious heist. Except, as always, there is more to see than first meets the eye, and Daniel (Jesse Eisenberg), Merritt (Woody Harrelson), Jack (Dave Franco), Dylan (Mark Ruffalo) and new recruit Lula (Lizzy Caplan) must also outwit an old foe (Morgan Freeman) if they are to execute their daring hoax and escape together.

With such a stupendously talented cast to call upon, it genuinely saddens me to report that Now You See Me 2 isn’t very good. Not only that, its also ludicrously dumb and farfetched. I don’t take issue with implausibility; like most cinemagoers, I derive enjoyment from the brief slice of escapism that movies offer. But Now You See Me 2 stretches beyond implausibility and strays neck-deep into impossibility.

Radcliffe plays a squeaky Mark Zuckerberg knock-off who forcibly recruits the Horsemen to steal some high-tech thingamajig that’ll supposedly allow him to hack any and every device on the planet, no questions asked (no doubt the FBI would be hankering to get their hands on it, but the film doesn’t go there). His inclusion reeks of stunt casting, particularly as his character vocally shuns magic and chooses instead to champion science – or ‘real magic’ as he calls it. Haha, I geddit, it’s because he played Harry Potter. Hilarious.

Eisenberg is particularly insufferable here whilst 90% of Franco’s character can be found in his 80-watt smile and perfect hair. With Isla Fisher exiting stage right between instalments, the film introduces Caplan as the fourth Horseman in her absence; the film knowingly pokes fun at her ‘token female’ status, but that doesn’t really make it any less egregious. That she could essentially be playing the same character as Isla and it wouldn’t make a lick of difference tells you everything you need to know.

Harrelson is the exception; his natural swagger and patter breathes life into some otherwise clunky dialogue. However, one key fact that the trailers were keen to hide is that Harrelson actually plays a dual-role; he also plays Merritt’s evil identical twin in an absurd goofy gimmick that is literally as stupid as it sounds. Embellished with bright white teeth, a Trumpesque fake tan and possibly the worst wig this side of, well, a Donald Trump rally, this mirror universe Harrelson is a cringe-inducing attempt at humour that fails every time.

The only character we genuinely care about throughout the movie is Ruffalo’s Dylan Rhodes; balancing a double life as ringmaster and FBI agent, Rhodes’ continued arc actually carries depth, as well as propelling the plot and giving the audience someone to actually root for. Even still, his particular set of skills are a little broad – one moment he’s a magician, the next he’s a pirouetting action hero, like some Franken mishmash of David Blaine and John McClane. 

The Verdict: 3.5/10


Like any half-decent magic show, Now You See Me 2 relies on flashiness and misdirection to disguise its lack of depth and painfully evident narrative shortcomings. There are sporadic flickers of genuine movie magic, but when the lights come up and the curtain closes, you’ll be left utterly bewildered by what unfolded. It’s time for this series to perform its greatest trick of all and disappear for good. 

Now You See Me 2 is in cinemas across Australia now

This review was originally published over at Hooked on Film, a Perth based website where you can find even more new release movie reviews, features, interviews and insight. Click here to check it out.

2 comments:

  1. Aw, man...I really wanted to see this, despite somehow, being That Guy that missed the first one entirely. The plan was to track down the first one and do a double dip.

    Thanks for killing my dreams, mate.

    (and saving me 9 bucks!)

    Great post as always!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry mate, hate to be the bearer of bad news haha. I'd still give the first one a whirl, it's markedly better than this one!

      Delete

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...