Now You See Me: Now You Don’t Review

Now You See Me: Now You Don’t may not be a very good movie, but you may have the time of your life watching it.

It’s ridiculously poorly shot, the narrative gets more incoherent by the time it clumsily leads to a head-scratching climax with its magic defying all sense of logical possibilities, and an Oscar-nominated actor gives a catastrophically terrible performance. Yet, it’s also strangely endearing.

To be honest, I’d much rather have films that are “so bad, it’s fun” compared to ones that make you rethink your life choices as you’re watching them. In that respect, Fleischer should earn my commendations, although his filmography is sadly filled with one forgettable title after another. It’s a weird object to review, because Now You See Me: Now You Don’t seemingly defies categorization. Is it supposed to be this bad, or does its sheer incompetence create layers of fun you never knew existed in a major motion picture? In any event, the movie begs to be seen to be believed, and perhaps you, too, will have a great time with it. 

Don’t let the rating at the top of this review fool you, dear reader, although fans of the franchise might not necessarily think there’s any enjoyment to be had here. One of the most baffling decisions made at the top of the movie is that Fleischer and his credited four screenwriters (Michael Lesslie, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick and Seth Grahame-Smith) think audiences care so deeply about the quartet of magician/robbers known as the Four Horsemen, comprised of J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson), Jack Wilder (Dave Franco), and Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher) that the third entry in the Now You See Me franchise should be a legacy sequel, where younger magicians join in on the fun to take down Rosamund Pike playing what is essentially a female version of Elon Musk. 

I don’t particularly believe the legacy of the franchise has been this ingrained in pop culture to warrant an entry where the younger generation interact with its older characters, but this is what the bulk of the movie is about, as Daniel enlists the help of up-and-coming magicians Bosco Leroy (Dominic Sessa), June (Ariana Greenblatt) and Charlie (Justice Smith) to bring Veronika Vandenberg’s (Pike) empire down. The plot is far too complicated for me to describe in any review, but what you must understand is that Veronika is the evil villain who has, in her possession, one of the world’s most priceless diamonds that she keeps for her (and her crime syndicate’s) benefit. 

The horsemen’s mission is to steal the diamond and give it back to the people. It sounds simple enough, but it gets more convoluted as the story trudges along from one set piece to the next. Some are impassioned, such as an extended set piece in Thaddeus Bradley’s (Morgan Freeman) castle, where Fleischer and cinematographer George Richmond play with space through an upside-down room, a hall of mirrors, a piano room with unique perspectives, and a stairwell that recalls the work of M.C. Escher. The sequence moves swiftly, and the action is pretty engaging. Another set piece, set inside the confines of a police station, recalls the sleek stunt work of Kensuke Sonomura, which will please any fan of intricately staged, impossible-to-mount action. Sadly, these are about the only sequences of note inside a movie that plays itself far too seriously in sections where its characters should let loose and becomes silly in places where it shouldn’t.

In many respects, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t is the Transformers: The Last Knight of the Now You See Me franchise, complete with an attempt to tie the mysterious magic-related organization known as “The Eye” to the defeat of the Nazis in World War II. It shouldn’t take itself too seriously or digest ridiculous amounts of exposition to the viewer in a rather dreary tone. Yet, it’s the sole reason why the movie isn’t as entertaining as it should be. When you have Rosamund Pike give a generationally awful performance as a mustache-twirling James Bond antagonist with the worst South African accent I’ve heard in my entire life (complimentary), you want the rest of the movie to be on the same campy wavelength as her. 

However, the way in which Fleischer presents the story isn’t as fun as Pike’s trainwreck of a turn that only makes you want more of her, and less of everyone else, is. Most of the “legacy” characters fall by the wayside as a significant preference is given to the newer protagonists who are essentially leading the mission. Credit where credit is due, Sessa and Greenblatt are delightful together and possess a great sense of alchemy, especially in sequences that require them to express a great deal of physical comedy. Sessa is exceptionally comfortable here, if it wasn’t evident from The Holdovers that he’s got a long career ahead of him. That said, Fleischer has a few more tricks up his sleeve (like any good magic act does) to satisfy hardcore fans of the franchise by hiding a few characters that weren’t on the promotional materials and have significant roles in the film, which are sure to enthrall viewers who enjoyed the first two. 

However, and most unfortunately, Eisenberg, Franco, Harrelson, and Fisher’s chemistry isn’t on top form the way it was in the first two films. Even Freeman looks bored as the franchise’s exposition-delivery machine, having nothing do in what will be his last go-around as the character. The protagonists seem to go through the motions instead of genuinely wanting to make a third one, and the promise of a fourth installment (teased at the end of this film and confirmed to be in the works by Lionsgate themselves) seems more like a threat to them than a desire to expand the franchise in meaningful ways. 

Still, I’d gladly take fifteen more of these than whatever blockbuster Hollywood likes to churn out these days, as inconsistent and incomprehensibly baffling Now You See Me: Now You Don’t becomes as we get to a genuinely head-scratching “reveal,” which was met with uncontrollable laughter from this critic and everyone else in the audience, who couldn’t wrap their heads around what is either a stroke of genius or sheer stupidity. Perhaps it’s both? Look, I won’t deny that the bulk of the movie doesn’t work. But I also can’t say it wasted my time. Maybe that’s the real magic trick after all…

Now You See Me: Now You Don’t will be released globally in theaters on November 14, 2025.