March 3, 2014

Review: NOW YOU SEE ME


I'm a sucker for a good heist/caper movie - I love films that break down an illegal act into its component parts, make sure that there are plenty of complications, and finally reveal that how they did it was as impressive when things go horribly, horribly wrong.

(And yes, I've seen both Hustle and Leverage....but long-time readers of the blog know that already).

So when I checked out Now You See Me, I almost expected a nice high concept movie (a heist done with magicians)....what I didn't expect was a thrilling, engaging movie that makes me wish that a sequel is in the works.

Granted, this movie is structured like a great franchise entry: the first fifteen minutes are the crew "coming together"; then the film moves full-throttle, as the four magicians (who refer to themselves as "The Four Horsemen") take on a series of challenges. (One of the more clever conceits is that each act of the movie's three act structure is announced as it happens). Yes, there's the cop - and partner - looking to hunt them down. And yes, there's the rogue who's looking to discredit them.

But Now You See Me is both a visual and script delight - not only are the magic tricks stunning to look at (and yes, some of them are CGI tricks), but there's never a false note or a hackneyed cliche. All of the acting is top-notch, the film is visually stunning....go see this movie.

It's out on DVD and Blu-Ray. Find it streaming. See it - you'll thank me later.


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