The track record so far: Now You See Me was a blast, while Now You See Me 2 spent too much time behind the curtain and not enough on the show. Now, the third film in the series, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t, seeks to right the ship and get back to business. Largely, it succeeds, adding new players and upping the stakes while still maintaining its “Damn the Man, Save the Empire” ethos. I mean, face it—these films are escapist fun, the embodiment of why we go to magic shows: to enjoy being hoodwinked by people smiling and shining you on.
We’re brought back to the world of The Four Horsemen—sleight-of-hand master J. Daniel “Danny” Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), mentalist Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson), cardist Jack Wilder (Dave Franco), and newly-returned escapologist Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher, absent from the second film)—with a reunion show announcement being broadcast and hyped up all over New York City. This is where we start seeing how director Ruben Fleischer’s going to handle his take on this franchise—with subtlety, not huge endeavors. Fleischer makes this reintroduction look as flashy as something the Horsemen would do… but something’s hinky.
The Horsemen are a little too glitzy, their tactics a little too forward, leaning heavily into the overly gregarious in ways that don’t fit their established personas. The editing flow and shot choices feel off, almost uncomfortably so (for us fans of the franchise). It’s paced jarringly, seeming to ape the style set forth by the “hook ’em early” tones of the two preceding films, but not exactly, as if to slyly insinuate that what we’re seeing may not be the genuine thing. For me to be saying, “Oh, dear…” this early in a film is always a bad sign, but there I was, hoping against hope that this was just a passing moment.
Thankfully, it was.
Moving forward from this prologue, Fleischer settles into franchise-familiar rhythms, allowing us to buckle up and settle in. He introduces us to three young magicians: Charlie (Justice Smith), Bosco (Dominic Sessa), and June (Ariana Greenblatt), all of whom have taken The Horsemen’s swindle-the-swindlers act to wreak their own acts of sociopolitical justice. They’re also using The Horsemen’s likenesses, prompting Danny to raise his objections in person, threatening to call the police on them after their latest stunt. Or… they could join Danny on his latest assignment from the nebulous magician’s organization known as The Eye. The target: the Vandenberg diamond empire, headed by Veronika Vandenberg (Rosamund Pike), rumored to be using the company as a money-laundering front for warlords and arms dealers.
It’s a down-and-dirty setup that propels us into this wild adventure with haste, speeding us from NYC to Antwerp as these four start setting the stage for the largest diamond heist in history. Veronika’s family has been in possession of the Heart Diamond—so named after its shape and considerable size—and it’s being taken out of their vault for an auction intended to launder a vast amount of dirty money. The Vanderbergs are shown to be despicable villains, with a history of plunder and self-dealing dating back to their Nazi roots in World War II. Veronika is a willing extension of their legacy, her words and actions dripping with the air of someone who deigns to deal with those beneath her, those she sees as playthings or mere means to her own ends. Of course, the other three Horsemen jump in, having received separate similar assignments from The Eye and reuniting after years apart to complete the job.
Fleischer orchestrates both action and exposition with crackling energy while keeping the story straight and free from complication. We’re given time to acquaint ourselves with our characters without having to hustle to keep up, making it easier to appreciate what the film has to show us, such as its centerpiece: a fantastic, unbelievable one-take shot revolving around a room while the seven throw down in a breathtaking magic jam. Unlike the linchpin card scene in Now You See Me 2, which was aided and abetted by CGI and edits, we’re immersed in this scene visually through sleight-of-hand gambits, quick changes, and vanishing routines, while perhaps learning a thing or two about each person’s purpose in what’s to come.
It’s an easier film to like than Now You See Me 2, staying away from the jealousy and interpersonal squabbles that kept the film from being truly enjoyable. Here, the reunited Horsemen do bicker about their reasons for splitting (and we find out why Henley wasn’t around in the previous film), but it’s never mean-spirited; while the pointed barbs are there, they never fully sink in deep enough to do damage. They sting each other just enough to get hackles raised, but it’s more of a sibling rivalry rather than trying to draw blood, and there’s softer attack that often gives way to genuine respect between them.
The new trio, who are just as Gen Z as Gen Z gets, remind us a little of how the Horsemen were when we first met them—punky, brash, and disdainful of any kind of authority, including Danny. Charlie, Bosco, and June have formed a tight-knit family as opposed to being four disparate magicians slapped together for unknown purposes. While they have the technique and the flash down, there’s still something fun about how raw their efforts are compared to The Horsemen’s practiced motions. The film’s not meant to be a kids vs. the elder statesmen contest, and it never comes off that way, thankfully; it’s nice to see the two factions coalesce into a team that starts to put each other first instead of just looking out for themselves.
Like I said in my review of Now You See Me 2, I’m a sucker for magic. I like the feeling of seeing the impossible, even if the disappearing card is just being palmed well, or if I can’t see the invisible string holding up a levitating object. With Now You See Me: Now You Don’t, the magic has been welcomed back to the series, finally embracing the characters and their methods with a warmth missing from the first two films. There’s added depth to their personas, as this film combines the action from the first and the personal drama from the second in a more satisfying and audience-pleasing manner. I can’t help but think that Fast Five has some kind of influence on this series, being about an underdog outlaw gang using a specific skill set to take down the Big Bad. And like Fast Five, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t has a game that is thrillingly played, layering scheme upon scheme and drawing us tighter to it as it powers toward its applause-worthy reveal.
