Every “Now You See Me” movie can be summed up as a modern, high-stakes Robin Hood heist featuring close-up magic. But that explanation glosses over the effect of all the plot twists and chemistry between the core cast of magicians, called the Horsemen. Typically, stage magic captivates an audience by leaving them in awe after having been fooled by a trick played right before their eyes. Yet this franchise doesn’t treat moviegoers like the audience — we get to go behind the scenes. The Horsemen aren’t here to fool us like the criminals they steal from, but bring us along for the ride, with the exception of a few extravagant disappearing acts.
Every movie in this franchise showed that the directors understood what people love and delivered, revealing the details of every little maneuver and misdirection. They made us one of the Horsemen, showing us angles of a trick that completely reveal it to us, but not to an oblivious henchman that decided to square off with magic. These were the moments that we celebrated loud enough to overlook the missteps.
The third movie in the franchise brings in a new generation of performers, continuing the franchise’s legacy of vigilantism. With rumors about the cast and plot ramping up during the pandemic, I caught myself scrolling through a fandom of theories. Every month, I would see a new release date, never confirmed, but still exciting me enough to rewatch the original films. Instead of a release in 2020, fans received the third movie of a trilogy nine years after the sequel. After nearly a decade of waiting, leaks and hype building up toward the moment, I stepped into the theater lingering on whether it would meet my expectations.
After nearly a decade of waiting, leaks and hype building up toward the moment, I stepped into the theater lingering on whether it would meet my expectations.
Four rows from the silver screen, I waited eagerly in my seat to meet my beloved Horsemen from the last two movies. I was instead introduced to Charlie, June and Bosco. These three random street magicians pride themselves on the money they take from targets in the audience through their own magic performances. They mirrored the Horsemen not only in motive, but skills and camaraderie, living in isolation like the world-famous magicians who inspired their act and joking together with a similar bond.
Just when the movie had me familiar with this trio, the lead Horseman, Atlas, stood in the shadows. When the four play out a scheme, Atlas holds up a curtain to drop and vanish behind. But when the cloth drops, we see another Horseman in his place. And amid a high-stakes diamond theft, we see one magician after another appearing right when needed when we least expect them. With each unexpected reveal during this escape, what this movie delivered inched closer and closer to my high hopes.
Atlas always says, “The closer you look, the less you’ll actually see.” After years of that quote ringing in the audience’s ears, it looks like I wasn’t paying attention. In a two-hour movie, there were 30 minutes of thrilling vigilantism that made the film stand out and misdirected me in the moment. I was caught up in the action and magic hours after credits rolled. I was invested, reminiscing the card tricks my cousin played on me and the ones I learned to show others. I left the theater ready for a rewatch, but it took days for me to see glaring flaws for common moviegoers. The real magic was being fooled into thinking this film was objectively amazing.
The real magic was being fooled into thinking this film was objectively amazing.
In retrospect, many aspects were subpar. Fan favorite characters were absent and underwhelmingly used, like Dylan — the mastermind who developed and led the Horsemen in the first two movies — and Lula, the fifth Horseman who appears far too late to make a lasting impression. The resolution’s reveal of the main plot twist should make one of the magicians responsible for a character’s death, but they walk away with zero guilt. The movie also created a random and unnecessary tension between characters, making them face off by playing into a tired old-versus-new-generation trope, all to create a conflict that’s never revisited and cheapening the character depth built over the first two films.
Yet, as I tear this film apart for inadequacies now, I still left grinning ear to ear like I did as a kid 10 years ago. After nearly a decade of waiting and speculating, my expectations were still exceeded — because the film fooled me twice.
Yet, as I tear this film apart for inadequacies now, I still left grinning ear to ear like I did as a kid 10 years ago.
After scouring the internet and following every word of the movie promos, I walked into theaters knowing to expect a plot twist. I thought I spoiled the movie for myself, that I would calculate the twist hours ahead of its reveal. But 10 minutes into the movie, I was chasing red herrings. Every insignificant detail had me questioning a character, scrutinizing the film to see the moment they would falter so I could figure out the trick they were playing on me. My mind was left scrambled trying to solve a puzzle I had a head start on. Just when I thought I had it again, the truth was revealed to be a possibility I gave no thought to. I looked too closely.
Moments I waved off as a gag for a small laugh or as something I missed were moments that hinted toward the surprise. This movie showed me I could be constantly outsmarted, a refreshing reality when franchise installments frequently fall flat as cash grabs through nostalgia.
For a movie that I loved for treating me like a fellow magician, being lied to and misdirected like the spectator of a trick made me love it more. It showed that same innovative scheming that brought the last two movies to life wasn’t gone — that the Horsemen were still two steps ahead of me. Even though it had its definite flaws, the third “Now You See Me” movie had a climax so well-executed that I forgot about the issues. I had to sit down and deconstruct the film to remember faults other films would have shown glaringly. I was so invested that I couldn’t care less about the random character tension that disappeared as mysteriously as the magicians themselves.
What I had been hoping to see for years was a team so coordinated that the FBI, Interpol, and criminal underground couldn’t keep up. I went to see elaborate planning to foil malicious plans of the world’s wealthiest. I waited nine years to watch magicians hit inescapable roadblocks and still pull off a stunt nobody saw coming. That being delivered in spades what brought this film from subpar and underwhelming to spectacular.
For those of you who cannot fathom seven magicians standing a chance against a morally corrupt international money launderer, start with the first movie. For someone ready to scrutinize and reduce this film to simple tropes, get ready for the same trick I fell for. But for those who have a bare minimum belief in the absurdity of “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t,” then take a seat for the magic show.