Now You See Me

Who would have thought that Now You See Me would dramatically outpace the Will Smith blockbuster After Earth in theaters this summer? I did!! I did!!! I said months ago that After Earth looked like an expensive mistake. And at the time I didn’t even know that M. Night Shyamalan was involved!

Now, before you run out to buy your ticket, Now You See Me is not as stylish and slick as Soderbergh’s Ocean’s Eleven, nor does it possess the panache and overall punch of Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige, but it is a fun summer movie that more than delivers on showmanship. (The film’s first sequence is particularly awesome!)

A terrific cast certainly helps this movie to succeed where some mildly confusing action sequences might have left you wondering what just happened or, more importantly, why. Of all the key players, only Isla Fisher delivers a stiff, unimpressive performance. On a brighter note, Dave Franco (yes, he’s James Franco’s brother) does a great job and may begin to see more important roles as a result. Mark Ruffalo, Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Michael Caine, and Morgan Freeman, while not delivering their most magical performances, possess good chemistry.

Director Louis Leterrier, known for the Transporter films, is admittedly out of his element a little bit with the twists and turns of the glitzy heist film NYSM, but experimenting with a slightly different type of genre proves well within his capabilities.

Just when you thought this season of summer movies resembled a bad Las Vegas lounge act, Now You See Me pulls the rabbit out of the hat and reminds us that there is still quite a bit of magic in the movies.