NOW YOU SEE ME : NOW YOU DON’T

After nearly a decade out of the limelight, the ‘Four Horsemen’ magicians (Jesse Eisenberg as J. Daniel Atlas, Woody Harrelson as Merritt McKinney, Dave Franco as Jack Wilder, and Isla Fischer as Henley Reeves) reunite for a new challenge. They are joined by a trio of Gen Z magicians (Justice Smith as Charlie, Dominic Sessa as Bosco, and Adriana Greenblatt as June) who are thrilled to work alongside their idols. Together they plot to steal the world’s largest diamond, ‘The Heart,’ owned by corrupt businesswoman Veronika Vanderberg (Rosamund Pike). Combining their talents, the seven illusionists confuse their adversaries and execute the heist. Ok, that’s the good stuff out the way. Beyond this, the plot is flimsy and incorporates too many twists and turns which makes the run time drag – when viewers start looking at their watches instead of the screen, boredom is setting in. Given there’s been a nine year gap between films, assuming current audiences will understand the references to previous franchise characters, back stories and in-jokes is a mistake. The performances are annoyingly over-acted and are only surpassed in cringe by Pike’s caricatured South African accent. Lastly for a movie about magic, there is very little on display – most of what appears is post-production CGI and special effects. Had high hopes but this was such a disappointment.