‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t’ review: This franchise has lost its magic

Following a nine-year hiatus, the Now You See Me franchise returns to the big screen with “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t.” This latest installment reunites the Four Horsemen (Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher and Dave Franco), a group of illusionists who must join forces with a trio of young magicians (Justice Smith, Dominic Sessa and Ariana Greenblatt) to thwart a diamond-laundering operation led by a powerful South African matriarch (Rosamund Pike).

If that plot sounds a bit convoluted, that’s because it is. However, let’s discuss some of the film’s positives first.

For starters, it’s fun to see the reunion of this star-studded cast, including the great Morgan Freeman, who has largely been out of the limelight in recent years. Freeman’s character, the Four Horsemen’s mentor, is used sparingly but effectively, and his presence is genuinely welcome.

The three newcomers have solid chemistry, both with each other and the original Horsemen. Dominic Sessa stands out in particular, as Sessa’s character is essentially doing a Jesse Eisenberg impression throughout the film. Sessa was terrific in 2023’s “The Holdovers,” and based on his performance here, he could be a star for years to come. Justice Smith has found himself joining numerous franchises such as Jurassic World, Pokémon and Dungeons and Dragons. However, this role might be my favorite of Smith’s in terms of blockbuster fare, as he plays the quiet, behind-the-scenes guy very well.

Rosamund Pike joins the cast for this go-around as the movie’s villain, Veronika Vanderberg. Pike’s starring role in 2014’s Gone Girl established her as one of the more talented actresses in Hollywood. In this film, though, Pike’s villain is extremely one-note, with lazily-crafted motivations for taking down the Horsemen. She is also rocking a thick accent, a strange mix of German and South African. Veronika Vanderberg is an upgrade over Daniel Radcliffe’s villain from the second installment, but the character is still not much to write home about.

The main problem with this movie, and the franchise as a whole, is the narrative turns that step outside the realm of possibility. The first film has a gritty crime-thriller feel, following Mark Ruffalo’s character as he hunts down these criminal magicians. Even though that movie features magicians robbing a bank in Paris from a stage in Las Vegas, it still manages to feel somewhat grounded in reality. But the second film takes a campier approach, with Radcliffe playing a comedic villain and Woody Harrelson portraying a wacky dual role. Unfortunately, this latest installment leans much closer to the outlandish tone of the second movie than the crowd-pleasing original.

The screenplay, penned by four different writers (never a great sign), leans on the low-brow humor common in other blockbuster movies. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been criticized for its recent over-reliance on witty jokes, and this film feels very similar. Characters fire off one-liners even in life-threatening situations, undermining any sense of real stakes.

Overall, these movies have become the ultimate “turn your brain off” films that you might catch on a Sunday afternoon on TNT and never think about again. And for that reason, I give “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t” a four out of ten.