NOW YOU SEE ME

Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson

Isla Fisher, Dave Franco, Melanie Laurent
Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman

"4 Amazing Magicians. 3 Impossible Heists.
1 Billion Dollars. This is no Illusion."

The impressive cast can somewhat fool you into thinking this would be a good if not great film. But as illusion is the main theme, we tend to be gullible and therefore most likely be deceived by the spectacular magic tricks.

"The Four Horsemen" as the team is collectively known are a group of highly skilled illusionists. Their show is not merely limited to the simple pulling the rabbit out of the hat sort of tricks. Their daring performances consists of pulling off heists to rob from corrupt merchants and giving the money back to the victims of the scams.  Yes there is a Robin Hood angle right there, come to think about it.

The film relies heavily on computer generated images to dramatize the illusions and magic tricks.  The plot held a lot of promise in the beginning with a sense of suspended disbelief as to who the real mastermind is behind the 4 Horsemen.   Yet midway everything turns pretty blurry and ends with a conclusion that leaves you hankering for more than what unfolded.  I felt cheated by the flat ending considering that the whole movie was about giving back to the duped society their hard earned money.
 

The ensemble cast do their best to sustain the momentum of the film. Yet there is only so much one can do to grab the attention of the audience if the plot itself implodes and self destructs.  It tends to drag on far too long than it is humanly possible to endure.  Yet you keep your eyes glued to the screen the way little kids do when they watch cartoons or animation movies as they are now called because you are drawn into the special effects and the magic tricks.  You really want to know who and what is their motive behind the illusions.

"Now You See Me" is fun to watch especially the high octane performances of the Four Horsemen but as most illusions go don't expect too much or else you would be disappointed once you learn the truth behind these magic tricks.