Distributor: Lionsgate Pictures / Summit Entertainment
Opening Weekend Box Office: #2 with $29,350,389
Domestic Box Office Gross to-date: $63,334,207
Gross Revenue: $66,534,207
Production Budget: $75 million
Director: Louis
Leterrier
In recent years, Lionsgate and its subsidiary Summit
Entertainment have become synonymous with young adult literary adaptations like
the Twilight and Hunger Games series, so seeing their name attached to a
high-profile thriller like Now You See Me
had to raise some questions about this upcoming caper film’s intended
audience. Luckily, with an energetic
trailer showcasing some clever magic tricks and leveraging an all-star cast
that ranged from legends like Michael Caine to crowd pleasers like Mark Ruffalo,
it looked like Louis Leterrier’s original entry was going to be able to hold
its own against competition from some of the well-established summer
franchises. March’s The Incredible Burt Wonderstone may have dampened the overall
appeal of the magic genre, and classic entries like The Prestige and The
Illusionist have had lackluster box office impact, but because this
upcoming hybrid was incorporating elements from the ever-popular heist formula,
chances were good that moviegoers would respond enthusiastically. As a fan of magic movies, I was thrilled to
see so many familiar faces in the ensemble cast; Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson
had an amazing dynamic in 2009’s Zombieland,
so their reunion alone seemed to guarantee high quality…add-in scene stealers
like Wedding Crasher’s Isla Fisher
and Inglorious Basterds’ Mélanie
Laurent, and the sky was the limit.
Offering something decidedly different from the standard summer film and
boasting early favorable associations to the Ocean’s Eleven franchise, Now
You See Me was geared to wow audiences.
Turning stage performers into master thieves, Now You See Me introduces audiences to “The
Four Horsemen”: sleight of hand expert Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg),
hypnotism specialist Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson), daring escape artist
Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher), and rising street illusionist Jack Wilder (Dave
Franco). Brought together by a
mysterious benefactor a year ago, The Four Horsemen are currently the most
popular act in Vegas and enjoy the sponsorship of insurance magnate Arthur
Tressler (Michael Caine), but things take a dramatic turn when the headliners use
an illusion to rob a bank in France during their show. Now the target of an international
investigation, The Four Horsemen are scrutinized by FBI agent Dylan Rhodes
(Mark Ruffalo) and Interpol agent Alma Vargas (Mélanie Laurent), but no one can
find a viable explanation for how the theft was performed. With the help of famed magician debunker
Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman), Rhodes and Vargas work to expose The Four
Horsemen as they continue to perform in New Orleans and New York City, all the
while continuously stealing from major corporations through interconnected trickery
and donating the proceeds to the downtrodden.
Uncovering evidence of a fifth conspirator in the scheme and rumors of a
secret society known as “The Eye,” an increasingly infuriated Rhodes chases
down the elusive Horsemen in hopes of arresting the fugitives before they can
complete their magic masterpiece.
If you have ever been wowed by a magic trick, you
will absolutely adore Now You See Me,
which offers a smart and entertaining story filled with wonderful character
chemistry and thrilling twists. Not only
do The Four Horsemen exude a charisma and showmanship that will keep your eyes
glued to the screen, but the tricks and illusions that they use to achieve
their goals are both brilliant and downright clever…whether they are
hypnotizing theater patrons or openly mocking authorities with ribbon and
balloon animals, your jaw will hit the floor.
And in speaking of the thespians who bring our heroic magicians to life,
between the quips and barbs they share, it is obvious that Eisenberg, Fisher,
Franco, and Harrelson work remarkably well together…there may not be a ton of
individual development or backstory, but the team they embody is a character in
and of itself that you will love to watch.
It is also worth noting that, in a summer filled with twist-dependent
narratives, this unconventional thriller offers one of the better and genuinely
rewarding reveals in film, one that ties together the outlier events of the
script so well that you will be compelled to watch again in order to place how
the misdirection worked so effectively. Take all of these positives into consideration,
and the few small shortcomings within Now
You See Me seem so insignificant that they are barely worth mentioning.
Compared to other critics, I am definitely in the
minority with my unabashed praise of Now
You See Me, but I maintain that my high recommendation is earned when
nearly all elements are executed so well that my only gripes involve certain
visuals. When I first saw the trailers
for Summit Entertainment’s newest entry, I couldn’t help but notice some of the
obvious CGI, and sadly, a majority of the visual effects surrounding the magic
tricks would have benefitted from some refinement…by no means are the visuals
poor, but the bar has been set so high lately that failure to reach a certain
mark of quality is obvious. And while I
don’t normally comment on such things like make-up and cosmetics, Morgan
Freeman clearly needed some touch-ups; it was bad enough that the man fell
asleep during pre-release interviews, but he is finally unintentionally showing
his age on-screen, to the point where his weathered looks have become totally
distracting. Aside from those small
complaints though, I am fully prepared to defend against other naysayers; for
instance, some have found the plot confusing and unresolved, but for me, it was
nice to be challenged as opposed to spoon-fed, making the complicated nature of
the narrative open to interpretation and future sequels. So, even though it isn’t perfect, Now You See Me is still wildly original
and the perfect type of film to renew mass interest in both magic and general
creativity…lord knows I now want to practice sleight of hand.
Now
You See Me may not have risen to the considerable challenge of
dethroning reigning box office champ Fast
& Furious 6, but the solid $29.3 million, second-place debut still
impressed quite a few forecasters. Such
numbers represent the biggest non-Twilight
debut for Summit Entertainment and stand in stark contrast to other
underperforming members of the magician-focused genre. As I mentioned early, such a pleasantly
strong debut are likely attributable to the counterprogramming of an original
premise against standard franchise fare…too bad that After Earth couldn’t cash-in on a similar sentiment. Unfortunately, this enjoyable thriller still
has to cover some ground to turn a profit against a $75 million production
budget, a displeasing truth to weigh against massive competition and an
inexplicably scant international presence.
Suffice it to say that Now You See
Me still represents one of the best and most surprising films of the
summer; one that must be seen by anyone who has ever marveled at a rabbit
pulled out of a hat.
Overall
Recommendation: Very High
