The last time I saw Jesse Eisenberg or Woody Harrelson in a movie was the 2009 comedy, Zombieland. That was a movie I felt was worth watching but not one that I needed to buy. However, the trailer for Now You See Me immediately caught my attention and when I heard it was an original story, one that was not adapted from a book or a remake of a past movie, I decided I had to see it.
This movie for the most part lived up to my expectations. A movie about a group of magicians robbing a bank, the plot kept me very interested. Character development was so-so, because by the end of the movie, I really didn’t feel I knew any more about the characters then I did at the beginning of the movie. This movie wasn’t supposed to be one where we got to know all the characters really well and gain a connection with them though. It was meant to be a mystery/thriller film that kept the audience interested and brought a new element to the concept of magic. So don’t be scared away by reading “Character development was so-so”.
Humor is interjected at appropriate times throughout and the action scenes included were intriguing. I would have liked more, but because it was meant to be a mystery/thriller, there wasn’t any room for any.
Morgan Freeman’s character is one of those guys that details how the magicians pull off their tricks and he’s one of the only characters that you learn more about in the film. The idea of inserting a character like this in the script was a great idea because I know for me, if I had never found out how they transported that guy all the way to Paris and back in a minute, I would have been fuming. While the saying goes, “a magician never reveals his secrets”, those secrets had to be revealed in this movie if they wanted the movie to be successful. If people come out of a movie knowing less or just as much as they did before the movie, they aren’t going to be happy.
Once again, if you’re new to my blog, I’ve always ranked movies on a scale of 0-100 (I don’t know why, I just always have). Here’s the grading scale.
90-100 It’s a great movie and definitely one worth buying. (Iron Man 3)
80-89 It was a pretty good movie and definitely one worth seeing, but it doesn’t quite scratch my top ten percentile. (Star Trek Into Darkness)
70-79 It’s okay but I’ve seen better. It has its moments, but it has its flaws, too. (Oblivion)
60-69 It’s got plenty wrong with it but I still got enjoyment out of this one.
50-59 This movie isn’t intolerable but it’s not blowing my mind either. I’m trying really hard to get some sort of enjoyment out of this.
40-49 This movie is just mediocre. It’s not doing anything other than the bare minimal, so morbidly boring that sometimes I’m actually angry I watched this.
30-39 Definitely worse than mediocre, the 30’s ironically define the 1930’s, full of depression, lack of accomplishments, poverty and just so dumb.
20-29 What did I just watch? Cliches, stupidity, nothingness, did I mention stupidity? Just…wow.
0-19 Watching this movie resulted in one or more of the following: seizure, loss of brain cells, falling asleep/unconsciousness, feel you wasted your time/day, accomplished nothing for you, left the movie knowing less about it then you did going into it, constantly asking yourself why you came to see this movie, or near-death experience. In short, staring at a wall was just as entertaining as watching this movie. This movie deserved a sticker or a label that said, “WARNING: EXTREME AMOUNT OF SUCKAGE”.
My score for Now You See Me: 82.
Director Louis Leterrier entertained me with Transporter and Transporter 2, and he did a good job with entertaining me here. In the movie, Eisenberg’s character says that “they’ll always be two steps ahead of you.” He wasn’t kidding because no matter how close you think you’ve gotten to understanding what’s going on, chances are you’re not even close.
*SPOILER ALERT* IF YOU DON’T WANT THE MOVIE SPOILED, STOP READING!!!
*SPOILER’S EDITION*
At the end of the movie, there’s a revelation of who the fifth member involved in the magic tricks is and I never saw it coming. It’s not who you would think it would be. In fact, it’s probably the last person you would think it is. While it “ruined” the movie for my mom and brother, I didn’t think it was too far of a stretch. The one thing that bothered me was that at the end of the movie, they disappear on a “magical merry-go-round” that had appeared in the middle of Central Park. It never tells you where it came from, where they went, or anything, something that bugged me, not because it left me hanging, but because you don’t get on a merry-go-round and just disappear. Maybe there was a trapdoor, I don’t know, but I thought that was lame. I’d say it’s one worth seeing though.
wordsofwistim 
I just read this review as you requested. It’s pretty good man I liked how you described character development. However, you should also talk about the directing and the performance, so people know what to expect besides the good story-line. Also, try to reduce plot details, like the Morgan Freeman Paris thingy.
And btw, add a page and put the scores board in it, instead of posting in every review, it would be better.
But the overall review is pretty good, I really enjoyed reading it and it made me want to watch the movie. Good job man!
Thanks for the feedback. I really appreciate it.