Do you like heist movies? What about magicians? Are you attracted to Dave Franco? If your answer to any of these questions is yes then I have the movie for you.
Where Ocean’s 11 meets Houdini in the most unserious way possible, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t is the third installment in the Now You See Me franchise. It’s a heist movie with a team of magicians as the main characters. Directed by Ruben Fleisher with a returning cast of Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher, Lizzy Caplan, and Morgan Freeman along with some new faces played by Justice Smith, Dominic Sessa, and Ariana Greenblatt.
Now You See Me 3 is probably the weakest installment in the Now You See Me franchise but this does not mean it’s a bad movie. The movie is fun. I went out with a couple of my friends, including my lovely editor Joyce, and greatly enjoyed myself. If I had to recommend a way to watch this movie, it would be with a group of people either in the theaters or at some type of movie night. This franchise also has a special place in my heart and I believe that it’s a solid entry to the series, just clearly written nine years after the original movies by an entirely new team.
The cast, as always, is absolutely stacked. They brought back Isla Fisher after being absent from the sequel and it’s good to have her back. Morgan Freeman is in a few scenes and that man has not had a bad movie. I just really like Woody Harrelson. I'll watch whatever he's in. The original Horsemen bring a familiar dynamic that is very enjoyable. They interact like old friends, which they are supposed to be. And I mean it's Dave Franco. The movie is at least going to be fun to look at. The new cast killed it as well. I liked Dominic Sessa in The Holdovers and I loved him here, he’s great at playing an obnoxious teenage boy. Haven’t seen Ariana Greenblatt since her Disney days and it was a bit of a culture shock seeing her all grown up. My main complaint with her performance is that I wish I saw more of her. Justice Smith was amazing as always, no complaints besides that accent he was doing during the big reveal.
The plot was the weakest part of the movie. Which was disappointing considering how well planned previous movies were, with every little detail leading to a big conclusion. The idea of this is definitely still present in the plot but it wasn’t portrayed the same way. Some things just sort of happen or people show up with little explanation (I’m looking at you Lizzy Caplan). Certain points are explained at the end but others are left unanswered. Another main point in the first two movies that I always loved was that all the magic tricks were either believable or explained, this is not the case here. Some tricks included felt like they were just there to look cool and aren’t actually possible. That took me out of the movie a little bit but they could have just been me. Also, the movie kind of ends on a weird note. Definitely setting up future sequels but a bit disappointing nonetheless.
In this case a weak plot does not make a weak movie. The movie is fun. It’s not going to win any awards but it made a good movie night. Not every movie has to be a masterpiece. Sometimes it’s enough to be entertaining. And Now You See Me: Now You Don’t is entertaining. You can tell the cast was having a blast making it and I was having a blast watching it. I fully recommend this movie. I’d probably give it a solid 7/10.
This movie has been out for a while now, so if you want to see it in theaters do it soon! It’s at Regal in Bellingham until Thursday the 18th (get tickets here) and at Patriot Place’s Showcase Theater until Wednesday the 17th (get tickets here).