So whenever a vaguely interesting movie pops into the dollar theater, I'm likely going to see it.
This time it was Now You See Me.
So, for your recommendation:
This movie is pretty good. Good effects, good characters/actors, and good pacing.
I felt that some of the story was a bit obvious, but according to the second-time viewers I was with, it wasn't obvious to them the first time, so that may just be me. The only other complaint I have for this side of the review is that they should've stuck with all physical effects, no CGI whatsoever.
So I do recommend this movie, and hope that you enjoyed it at least as much as I did.
Onto the Review!
Spoilers:
The opening does a really good job of introducing the main... anti-heroes.
The tricks were clever, but Henley's escape trick certainly seemed to have help from some movie magic.
This was how I felt about the magicians throughout the movie,
"Wow, that was really clever! I bet they can't do that live."
Call me a skeptic, but the abundance of computerized effects made it pretty obvious that the things that seem like magic are digital, not actual illusion.
I have to hand it to the Four Horsemen, though, they really made characters that you could get attached to and almost want to see succeed.
And there lies another issue I had.
Why does pop culture glorify criminal activity so much?
Is it so hard to believe that in the modern era you can be amazingly productive and help people without actually committing a crime?
And why do I wish they'd had more screen time?
Moving on.
Dylan Rhodes was an interesting character, but apparently I was the only one not entirely surprised that the "Eye" turned out to be him.
He really started out as a good character, but towards the end it felt like they were to lazy to hire or write in someone to play the puppet master, and so just threw him in instead.
And to justify all his actions: revenge.
What.
The.
Seriously?
I get it, Thaddeus Bradley ruined your dad's career, but it's not like he locked him in the safe and threw him in the river himself.
Thaddeus's job is debunking magic.
As I see it, he reveals the oh-so-simple-it's-almost-stupid ways that magicians fool us, but you know what? Despite the fact that we know how most magic tricks work these days, it's still really clever.
Honestly, how many of us would think to put a mirror inside a box to make it look like a bunny's disappeared?
Dylan is so mad that this man "caused" his father's death, he's willing to let him get locked away for a crime he didn't commit. Why is it so hard for him to see that maybe it was his own father's foolishness that was the problem?
It really pisses me off when I see themes like this;
Justifiable revenge.
It's cheap and shallow.
Stop doing this.
Please.
So, now for the ending.
Everyone lives and people are in love.
Where have I seen this before?
Oh yeah.
Real original, guys.
The movie could've ended perfectly without the implied romantic attachments at the end.
Really, nothing would have been missed.
The failed relationship between two of the horsemen added to their character, and it would have been more believable if they just stayed broken up.
There's also a lot of loose ends.
Why did the French lady get involved?
How did they do half of the illusions at their last performance?
Where do the Horsemen go now?
How did Henley get her card out of the piranha tank?
I mean really.
If you're going to leave so little room for a sequel, at least answer the questions you bring up.
So all-in-all, the biggest problem with this movie is the writers' sorry attempts to fill plotholes.
The effects, acting, and videography were great.
If that's all you wanted, good for you!
But seriously, this movie is fairly engaging and the characters are memorable (even though I had to look up their names for this).
Go with God,
~Allie
Oh, just found out that there is some hope of making a sequel to this movie.
Maybe they'll do better next time.
