“Now You See Me 2” still has some of its magic

“Now You See Me 2” still has some of its magic

“Now You See Me 2,” sequel to the popular 2013 film materialized in theaters last summer. The Horsemen return to continue their Robin Hood-esque robbing the rich and corrupt to reveal their crimes and bring about justice.

J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), Merritt McKinney (Woofy Harrelson) and Jack Wilder (Dave Franco) return alongside newcomer Lula (Lizzy Caplan) as the four Horsemen.

After FBI Agent Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) was revealed as the secret fifth member and leader of the group at the end of the first movie, it appears the Horsemen are ready to work together as a team to take down the powerful and corrupt. However, after a year of no instructions from Dylan, they begin to get restless.

When a new mission finally comes up, they are thwarted by an unknown enemy, revealing their identities to the world.

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Their new enemy shows his face and abducts the Horsemen. Millionaire Walter Mabry (Daniel Radcliffe) reveals himself and tries to blackmail the group into stealing an invaluable computer chip.

The Horsemen use their illusions and tricks to attempt to outsmart their blackmailers with their usual charm and flare.

I found this film fun, but I also found it somewhat predictable, oddly enough, because it is so unpredictable.

In the previous movie, the audience quickly learns to expect the unexpected; the viewer knows there is more than meets the eye. Whenever something bad happens to the main characters, the audience often later finds out that the protagonist actually tricked the antagonist offscreen.

However, the unpredictability of the first movie left the audience able to spot the same patterns in the sequel.

Though the precise way the Horsemen pull themselves out of trouble is imaginative and unexpected in every way, the audience can’t hold onto their attention as the Horsemen execute the many obstacles they face in escaping their blackmailer.

However, the magic tricks, as in the first movie, were consistently elaborate and riveting. My mind raced as I tried to imagine how they pull them off with each trick outdoing the last.

But I did feel that the drama between the Horsemen interfered with that magic.

It isn’t particularly creative, and the Horsemen spend a lot of time arguing and brooding over petty issues.

Overall, I found the film amusing, but I felt it was mainly a continuation of the first movie without much differentiation that, since it was a long movie, became somewhat dull after a while.

Therefore, I would give “Now You See Me 2” seven stars out of 10.

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