Now You See Me

Director: Louis Leterrier
Writers: Boaz Yakin and Edward Ricourt
Released: July 2013
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco, Mark Ruffalo, Mélanie Laurent, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman
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Um. Yeeeeaaaah. So the reviews I had been reading before I went to see Now You See Me, basically stated that it was over-complicated and so layered that one would need to watch it more than once.

This is quite simply, not the case.

It is so clichéd, so typical, so obvious, that the ending could be guessed half way through the film.

The ‘twist’ is… Barely even a twist. It wasn’t shocking or unforeseen at all. My reaction was more like, “oh yeah. Hmm. I’m not surprised”.

So, it really is nothing like The Prestige. The magicians are superficial and unlovable, as are the other characters who are all underdeveloped. For the most part, they were unbelievable – despite the epic cast!

I usually love Woody Harrelson’s and Michael Caine’s work, but they really weren’t given the chance to shine. Their characters were brief and shallow. But oh my God, Jesse Eisenberg just got on my nerves! I can’t stand the characters he plays, who are usually very similar.

The story was like something seen on a long-running TV series like CSI or what not. It was so… Average.

The only cool parts were when they explained how the tricks were performed. That was quite effective.

Unfortunately, there were a lot of major jump-cuts that became jarring. Leaving out a lot of footage, although kept the pace, did make you feel disconnected from the film.

I am quite disappointed in this movie. Despite hearing negative reviews on this film I still went into the theatre expecting to be thoroughly entertained and mystified… Yeah.. Nah.

Meh! It’s okay. Nothing special.

Jodie’s rating: 5/10

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