The best franchises are the ones that can survive the downturn. Even if one sequel isn’t as good as its predecessor, there’s still enough there to keep me coming back again and again. That’s how we felt Now you see me: now you don’t, The third film in the Jewish Heist Franchise Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, and Dave Franco. This installment has everything you’d want from a franchise but it’s not quite as lovable as the first installment. It’s a little understated, a little light on character, but there’s still enough new crumbs here, even if it falls, we have to start lining up.
Directed by Ruben Fleischer (apparently, already working on the fourth film), Now you see me: now you don’t takes place a few years after the events of the previous film. The famous four horsemen have not been seen in public for a long time, but when a new group of magicians begins to invade their territory, the two groups are forced into a magical plan bigger than what they have done before. They are going to steal the world’s largest diamond from a bad money launderer played by Rosamund Pike.
That new group was formed through Justice Smith (I saw the TV light)Ariana Greenblatt (Barbie)and Dominic Sesssa (honovars)and this is their movie. It’s nice to see Eisenberg, Harrelson, Fisher and Franco back, taking a big back seat to this new, younger generation of adventurers. Their characters, with their unique stories and points of view, allow the film to shine a light on the whole idea of magic, with good nostalgia and accepting respect. Each collides with the original horsemen in multiple ways, too, allowing for tons of fun banter and magical encounters.
The argument is that as the film progresses, there are too many characters to do each of them. They start pairing up, a lot of people can’t hear, and by the end, you can’t help but feel that several characters were developed a lot. They are more likely to be stationary and a planning tool than anything else.
Even as the film’s twists and turns begin to pile up – and we hope, they do – the large number of characters make impossible tricks that even feel possible beyond the ordinary. These movies are about deception and revelation, too Now you see me: now you don’t you have many times of them. But more often than you’d like, you can’t help but think, “wait, what are those other five characters doing now?” Sometimes it pays off, sometimes it doesn’t, but because of that, the magic wears off a bit.
Fortunately, the new Capport really shines. Smith, as the magic nerd of the group, fanboys about the Horsemen as much as they do about the characters they portray. Greenblatt has that cool confidence he brings to every role, but now it’s dialed up to 11. And Sessa, as the leader of the group, once again establishes himself as the leading man. Also, the three newbies who help the original broadcast at least try and take their characters into new characters, both clean and emotional. It doesn’t always work, but it helps fill the time.
The script, attributed to four writers, does its best to pull the rug out from all the ways the franchise promises and it partially succeeds in that. A few seconds are telegraphed, the other world is right, and a few leave us scratching our heads a little, even if it is clearly explained after the fact. As for the way that escaped, he did his best to balance everything, but with so many places and characters, the end result, the end result has little flair Jon M. CHU gave the previous movie.
At the end, Now you see me: now you don’t It definitely has some of the magic we know and love from this franchise, but it’s not enough to live up to the previous films. If you like other movies, these characters, and the world, it’s hard to get too upset about it. These movies are about joy, and with things a little dirty, there’s a simple joy in watching their magic. It might be the least rewarding film in the franchise so far, but we’ll be there for the next installment of Horses no matter what.
Now you see me: now you don’t opens November 14.
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