Movie Review: Now You See Me 2.

Magic tricks always look fascinating but I've come to realize that there's always a logical aspect to every single magic trick. Once the magician gets a hold of their audience’ attention, they flow from there and are able to trick them. This is what happened in the movie “Now You See Me” and although the magic tricks were, well, tricks, I still had a good time seeing the movie.

About The Movie

Now You See Me 2 follows the four horsemen who are now part of a secret magician society called “The Eye.” Led by FBI agent, Dylan Rhodes, they are tasked with exposing a corrupt tech CEO, Owen Case, whose new phone illegally extracts users data. During a hijacked product launch, the horsemen's identities are exposed causing them to flee and in the process, get captured by a tech magnate, Walter Mabry. Mr. Mabry forces them to steal a powerful data decryption chip from a highly secured facility in Macau using their magical theatrics.

Eventually, the horsemen stage a final performance in a bid to redeem themselves and at the same time expose Mabry and his allies, culminating in a staged plane escape and the revelation of the villains' crimes. The film ends with the horsemen being fully inducted into the Eye, with Dylan named as the new leader.

This film was directed by Jon M. Chu and has a runtime of 129 minutes. The film was released in June 2016 and boasts of veteran characters like Morgan Freeman, Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson and Dave Franco.

My Opinion

This was a very exciting watch for me because prior to me seeing this movie, magic tricks had never looked so mind blowing. Every time the horsemen were performing a magic trick or a coordinated move, I had this little tingling in my chummy. One could call it a tingle of expectation.

Being a sequel to “Now You See Me” a few of the characters were retained and some new characters were added. However, the characters, especially the new ones, lacked depth because little to no cues were given about who these characters were, making it hard to connect with them. However, these characters all performed every act marvelously. When it was time to get witty, they performed maximally, time for magic tricks, crowd coordination, serious business, they excelled. This was one reason why the movie was such an interesting watch because characters' performances always determine how well a movie goes.

Some of the themes explored in the film include; deception, illusion, loyalty, betrayal, power and control. All of the themes seemed to compliment each other and the entire plot as well.

While this film excelled in some aspects like spectacle and humour, it faced certain glaring challenges. To some people, the plot may seem very overwhelming with so many twists and forced scenes, which make it hard for viewers to focus on the suspense build-up.

Despite these flaws, the film remained a thrilling watch, effortlessly blending magic, heists and humour into one delightful mix. One of my favorite scenes from the movie was when the horsemen went to steal the chip. This scene seemed impossible because of how tight the security was and how alert the security men were. Every slight movement was considered a threat and the security men treated it as such but somehow, the horsemen always managed to escape.

The movie ended in a very satisfactory manner and this was one thing I appreciated about this sequel. This ending buttressed the fact that sometimes, our deepest desires come to us even when we aren't actively seeking it out. Also, our actions would always speak louder than words.

Recommendation.

I enjoyed watching this sequel because it was basically a full-fledged movie on its own. One wouldn't have to see the first part to understand what was going on in the second part. Also, it was an entertaining and captivating film that kept me on edge from time to time.

With this, I will give the film a 7/10 rating. I would recommend this movie to everyone except photosensitive individuals as some scenes in this film had really bright lights.

^{Thumbnail
Image 2}

LIEBE🤍