Now You See Me Movie Review

This will be very very short because 'Now You See Me' is the type of film that you really can't discuss without giving away its secrets. While this film is nowhere near the level of 'The Prestige' (and doesn't even try to be), it is still a very fun, escapist film.
The basic plot is that 4 different magicians (Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco) are all brought together by a mysterious individual for a larger purpose. 1 year later, they are re-dubbed The Four Horsemen and have 1 show planned in Vegas, one in New Orleans, and one in New York. After the Vegas show where they appear to rob a Parisian bank, the FBI & Interpol (with agents played by Mark Ruffalo and Melanie Laurent) start hunting them to find out what their ultimate goal is. Also thrown in to mix are Morgan Freeman as an ex-magician who now makes his living by explaining how magicians do their tricks and Michael Caine who is a businessman who is funding the Four Horsemen.
To say more about the plot would start to spoil the surprises.
This film is much more like Ocean's 11 than The Prestige in that it is much more a heist film than a film about magic or illusion. While I was disappointed that some of the magic is done through the use of CGI and camera trickery, when it became very clear that it was not about the magic, it didn't bother me as much.
What it is, though, is a very fun, plot heavy heist movie. While some of the exposition is clumsily inserted, making sure that the audience knows it will come into play later, the film keeps up a brisk pace for its entire 2 hour running time.
While I cannot say for sure that this film plays 100% fair throughout its entire runtime, it seems that it does. With the fun had by each actor, a nimble screenplay, and just the enjoyment of watching everyone interact on screen together, it is definitely worth your time. It is just not quite the slam dunk I was hoping it would be, although it is nowhere near the disaster I was afraid it might be.
Sometimes it sucks watching this type of film when your favorite movie is The Sting. :)

Movie Rating- 8
Film Rating- 6