This irresistible thriller is both daring and ambitious. Director Louis Leterrier has gone from creating CGI blowouts in The Incredible Hulk (2010) and Clash of the Titans (2008) to the illusion of con-men magicians in Now You See Me. This is an entertaining caper that keeps you guessing!
The screenplay is written by Ed Soloman, Boaz Yakin and Edward Ricourt Leterrier and is about an ensemble skilled in the art of deception.
Arthur Tressler (Michael Caine) puts together a crafty ensemble of magicians, who they call The Four Horsemen. These four very talented illusionists all display very different skills. Ambitious J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg) is the conjuror who portrays an air of elitism so smoothly. He, is joined by Escapologist Henley Reeves (played convincingly by former Summer Bay resident, Aussie Isla Fisher), street magician Jack Wilder (Dave Franco), and the charming failed hypnotherapist-now-mentalist Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson).
These fascinating magicians plan to pull off an illusion where, in front of a live audience, they transfer a random person to the vault of a bank in Paris, where he raids millions which is then showered on the audience.
FBI Agent Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) does not want to be involved, but he arrests The Four Horsemen and interrogates them with InterPol agent Alma Dray (Melanie Laurent). It is not long before the agents realise that they have completely underestimated these scam artist illusionists and that trying to pin such a huge crime on magicians is not going to be easy. They turn to magic debunker Thaddeus Bradley (yet another outstanding performance by Morgan Freeman) for tips on solving how they got away with the crime.
It is quite obvious that Now You See Me never takes itself seriously, so it all comes together quite well. Sure it is far-fetched, but the amazing razzle-dazzle together with the absolute on-screen energy of a cast who gel together so effortlessly makes this the perfect way to escape reality and enjoy the fun of being fooled by magic and mayhem!
Reviewed by Kirstey Whicker
Rating out of 10: 8
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