"Funner" With Frank

I know I’ve seen the first NOW YOU SEE ME film, but I don’t recall very much about it other than the high-concept conceit of the film.

It’s MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE with stage magicians. I’m not certain about this but I suspect that’s exactly how the first script was pitched. If not exactly, then pretty darn close.

It was a fun movie, but again, plot specifics elude me. I know I enjoyed watching it as did enough other people to make the film a financial success with a box office take substantial enough to warrant a sequel.

NOW YOU SEE ME 2, which I watched yesterday afternoon, is more of the same but with the action and set pieces amped up to eleven. It’s still MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE with magicians but the stakes are higher here and the cast of heroes and villains have been tweaked a bit.

The Horsemen (that’s the name of the magician’s team) are led by Mark Ruffalo and are made up of Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco and Lizzy Caplan (the new member). They are in service of a worldwide organization called The Eye and this time they’re up against mega-criminal Michael Caine (from the first film) and his son, Harry Pott…er, Daniel Radcliffe and, I kid you not, Woody Harrelson’s evil twin. Stradling the line behind good and bad is Morgan Freeman who has multiple secrets to be revealed.

It’s a thrill a minute caper that showcases some amazing magic tricks and illusions but it’s hard to be taken in by a film about magicians when there are cuts and edits and special effects and more which are their own brand of onscreen magic. Seeing a trick live and right before your eyes is a helluva lot more impressive.

But given that, NOW YOU SEE ME 2 is a fun movie with likable characters, hissable villains and dazzling feats of derring do. And remember, there is always something up their sleeves.

Recommended.