Now You See Me Review

28th Jun 2013

It seems to be a summer of nonsensical plotted blockbusters. If you thought Fast Six or Star Trek Into Darkness, hell even Man Of Steel had questionable plots at best then you haven’t seen anything yet. Now You See Me finds a group of four, it seems picked at random, street magicians brought together to perform a sort of heist like Magic show.

A mystery figure gathers our talents in the opening pf the film, but then they perspective changes mainly to that of the police officer sent to track them down. It’s this change or perspective that keeps us from knowing too much about the four (if indeed they know anything), as our good officer (Mark Ruffalo) bumbles about panto style trying to figure out what is going on.

The less you think about the plotting the better off you will be. The joy, like the aforementioned films, is in the performances and the spectacle of it all. And trust us when we get to the third act things really don’t make any sense any more. Plot stands are dropped, supporting characters simply disappear from the film altogether. And we are slapped in the face with a final resolution that will induce titters and heavy frowns rather than euphoria.

Still this is the kind of roles that actors like Woody Harrleson have mastered over the years. And Mark Ruffalo is quickly becoming the summers’ new favourite character actor in blockbuster films. Clearly he’s having a well earned break from the multitude of independent films he has worked on.

It’s a shame then that so much good will and playful character interaction is all but ruined by plot revelations.