Now You See Me

An intriguing escapade film revolving around deliberate misdirection, Now You See Me opens with an unusual quartet being drawn into a partnership: a hypnotist/mentalist (Woody Harrelson), a card shark (Jesse Eisenberg), a pickpocket/safecracker (Dave Franco) and an escape artist (Isla Fisher). Each receives a cryptic tarot card, setting up a mysterious meeting at a Manhattan apartment where they are given a holographic blueprint for an incredible magic act. Within a year, the group, known as The Four Horsemen, is performing in Las Vegas—bankrolled by a millionaire (Michael Caine)—where they teleport an audience member into the vault of a Paris bank and send three million Euros fluttering down on the audience. After being arrested by a frustrated FBI agent (Mark Ruffalo) and his Interpol partner (Mélanie Laurent)—who are unable to prove the quartet guilty of the theft—they pull off another brazen robbery in New Orleans, distributing millions to hurricane victims. Observing their spectacular stunts is a cynical debunker (Morgan Freeman), who's built his reputation by exposing magicians' secrets. What the Horsemen are ultimately up to and why propels the suspense in director Louis Leterrier's fast-paced (if also far-fetched) flick, although it's a shame that more screen time isn't devoted to the magicians, whose astonishing antics are far more interesting than FBI/Interpol jurisdictional bickering or cops ‘n' robbers chase scenes. In any case, it's easy to be swept up in the abracadabra if you're willing to suspend disbelief. Recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include both theatrical and extended versions of the film, audio commentary by producer Bobby Cohen and director Louis Leterrier, a behind-the-scenes featurette (16 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are deleted scenes (32 min.), “A Brief History of Magic” featurette (12 min.), and bonus DVD, digital, and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a fun film.] (S. Granger)