Now You See Me (2013)

It’s been some time since I watched a movie and it compelled me enough to make a full fledged post about it and not just a 2 line synopsis that I had become accustomed to of posting on my FB timeline.

‘Now You See Me’ is not only brilliant with its pace and all its twists and turns, it is equally delightful in its overall execution. The magic created in the movie might all be digital FX but it is so skillfully woven with the script that every trick feels ‘realistically unbelievable’.

The purpose of magic is two fold – one to invoke awe and amazement by creating a distraction and surprising people and second to instigate and stimulate a mind to question the execution of the same trick and ‘Now You See Me’ delivers on both aspects.

The plot keeps you spell bound and the one man-upmanship through the course of the plot that unravels with its characters and keeps you at the edge of your seat till the very last frame. The individual characters are over the top in a subtle and sublime way and this truly highlights the essence of a great story and screenplay. Though, the storyteller (the director - Louis Leterrier) has received some brickbats for not being able to ‘pull it off’ in the final act as crisply as perhaps the audience would have liked it to be, I felt that maybe the snazzy lighting and stage setting was done keeping the commercial glamour in mind more than anything else and can be forgiven if you look at the overall ‘big picture’.

Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher and Dave Franco (right to left in the pic) as the four horsemen did justice to their roles and Isla Fisher in particular should be lauded for her portrayal of Henley Reeves in this movie after her sidelined quarter role in The Great Gatsby recently. Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine are the kind of veterans who can essay any role and make even the most obscure portrayals believable. However, I personally felt that Morgan Freeman was underutilized and got a little lost in the overall canvas. But then the guy who really stood out, acting as both a pawn in the beginning and the essential pivot towards the climax with equal deft ease is Mark Ruffalo and he undoubtedly rises way above the rest. Mélanie Laurent looks beautiful in every shot she is a part of, even when she is just standing in a corner and not saying anything. I am sure she is made for better roles and her best is yet to be seen.

The wiki link for the movie says that the film's most common criticism is that various plot points were insufficiently resolved at the movie's conclusion, leaving some questions unanswered or answered unclearly maybe to leave some potential for a sequel. I will still recommend this as a good watch and worth your ticket’s money for its sheer story telling and entertainment value.

And then of course, to the movie’s defense, I quote from the movie itself “The closer you are, the lesser you see…”

To sum up, “Go Watch”.  For the plot and the storyline and any spoilers click HERE.