Between the Covers: Stories from My Bookcase

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Now You See Me (2013)

This is definitely one of the better films in 2013.

Now You See Me is about four individual acts who were brought together by an unknown benefactor to perform great feats of magic as one team – The Four Horsemen. They’ve got quite the special treat for the audiences for their finale act – giving away money they just robbed from a bank.

Now-You-See-Me-Poster

Each magician had his/her own expertise - J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg of The Social Network fame) looked like the typical street magician who works with cards. Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher, Confessions of a Shopaholic) is the sole female, and was a great escape artist. Jack Wilder (Dave Franco) is the youngest, and used sleight of hand not just to entertain out on the streets, but to rob people too. Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson) completes the quad, a mentalist who goes on a tour and blackmails his victims with their deep dark secrets.

It takes a year to complete, but the four perform a series of acts that will earn them prestigious spots to an elite and secret circle called The Eye.

Dylan Rhodes is the overworked FBI agent assigned to solve the mystery of the Four Horsemen’s Paris bank heist. Working with him is Alma, a French researcher from Interpol. She knows a lot about The Eye. Thaddeus Bradley wanted to become a great magician, but perhaps due to lack of talent, he built a lucrative business in exposing magician’s tricks instead.

The Horsemen made known their gratitude to their sponsor and financier Arthur Tressler. He stands to make a lot of money as their shows are sold out to huge crowds. But they had a special finale just for him on their New Orleans show. Justice.

For their final show in New York, they take a huge safe full of money right under the FBI’s nose, and give all the contents away to their loyal fans. Authorities (and the audience) think they’re one step ahead of them, but in truth they are exactly where they needed to be. The Horsemen get away, but the feds get to arrest someone caught red handed with all the real money.

But the true mystery is in the fifth horseman. Who brought them together? Who stands to benefit from all these acts? Throughout the film there are clues, and it was wonderful to piece them together and come to the surprising conclusion.

Now You See Me tells you that sometimes looking too close makes you see less. Don’t be too engrossed in the details that you miss the big picture. And the real magic happens before the act.

Enjoy the trailer:

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