Directed By Ruben Fleischer

Starring – Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco

The Plot – The Four Horsemen (Eisenberg, Harrelson, Franco, Isla Fischer) reunite with a new generation of illusionists (Dominic Sessa, Ariana Greenblatt, Justice Smith) for a high-stakes heist. They must work together to expose and stop a powerful, corrupt diamond heiress named Veronika Vanderberg (Rosamund Pike), who has ties to arms dealers and other criminals. Aided by the legendary Thaddeus (Morgan Freeman), they undertake their most challenging and global magical adventure yet.

Rated PG-13 for some strong adult language, violence and suggestive references.

Now You See Me: Now You Don’t (2025) Official Trailer

POSITIVES

Nearly ten years between films offers ample opportunity to write the wrongs of a disappointing secondary predecessor, and while this third film in the now proposed quadrilogy is definitely far from perfect, it does maintain the air of consistency of its sturdy foundation, despite Fleischer serving as the third director in as many franchise installments. For starters, Fleischer leans more heavily into the self-aware campiness of the original movie, instead of the overtly serious tones felt throughout its sequel, and this not only allows the vibrancy of personalities between these characters to bounce seamlessly off of one another, in order to invest in their old generation versus new generation dynamic, which drives much of the movie’s comedic material, but also indulges in the ridiculousness of the movie’s so-called magic gags, with “Fast and the Furious” levels of logic that immediately transcribes to the audience to turn their brains off, if they wish to follow along faithfully to the series of events that materializes its plot. This is definitely felt the loudest throughout some silly-but-entertaining elaborate set pieces, pertaining to everything from funhouse frolics of riddle-solving escape rooms, to even hand-to-hand combat, brandishing razor sharp fight choreography and sleek motions of the lens, and though action has never been this series’ most definitive calling card, it’s nice to see the film utilize an element of urgency to a conflict that is otherwise entirely one-sided, allowing us to see the extended Horsemen as not only mentally manipulative at adapting to any overwhelming situation, but also some physical brut resiliency among them to take the devastation that is devised from their deceit. Speaking of the Horsemen, nearly everybody from the previous films returns for this third installment, on top of the addition of three-fresh faced magicians coming up in the game, and it only further solidifies the family dynamic that persists within this longtime group of colleagues, in turn appraising an effortless element of chemistry between them that serves the movie especially well during its ice-breaking establishing scenes. As expected, the fabulous foursome of Eisenberg, Harrelson, Franco and Fischer still command limitless showmanship charm and capable confidence in the designs of their spectacular characters, but most surprising is how the additions of Sessa, Greenblatt, and Smith dominate the power of the performances, especially Sessa, whose blow-for-blow quick-tongued wit and unapologetic observations match Eisenberg’s anxious deliveries accordingly, crafting a nerve-crossing neurosis between their dynamic that drives much of the initial interactions between the groups. Sessa’s nourishing naivety is matched with the intensity of Greenblatt’s stoicism during physically-demanding action sequences, illustrating an ass-kicking opportunist who makes the most of any environment that she’s put in, and with a vitally important arc for Smith, which allows him to come unto his own emotionally from the roots of a tepidly nervous helping hand to the take charge leader that he eventually grows into, makes this feel like a legitimate kind of passing of the torch that isn’t just another vehicle for an already proven veteran ensemble to dominate the spectrum from their energetic additions.

NEGATIVES

Unfortunately, as much as directors and prominent faces change within this once storied franchise, the more they stay the same with its nagging hinderances, particularly in a drastically underwritten screenplay that relies a bit too heavily on conveniences and contrivances to allude some glaring plot holes that an elephant could escape out of. While I wholeheartedly understand that these are the kinds of movies that ask you to substitute logic for the undeterred investment of turning your brain off, I can’t abide by a world where laws and lawful practices don’t exist, such as one of the film’s many examples conveying the Horsemen being this supposedly wanted group that had to retire from magic shows in the public eye, yet can show up freely to other big events that are advertised in advance, mind you, without so much as a police officer showing up to detain them. On top of this, the script’s inconsistency for writing also makes it glaringly evident how superfluous the elderly Horsemen feel to this particular engagement, especially with such an unforeseen twist during its third act climax that has absolutely nothing to do with any of them. Considering the whole film is built wisely on the back of a mystery puppeteer pulling the strings of both of these sides involved in the conflict, the end result comes across far too convoluted and soap opera levels of nonsensical to land effectively with registering anything meaningful to the interpretation of the audience, and considering it only further condemns what is already the series single weakest antagonist, it made me all the more upset and disappointed with how little creatively that this movie had for Rosamund Pike’s villainous turn, especially considering she’s written as another cliche billionaire scheming off of the backs of poor people. If the script spent even a single scene to perilously cast the Horsemen in doubt, while rocking the air of their confidence, then Veronika would feel like a credible adversary, instead of a forgettable antagonist, but stupidly, the film constantly has the Horsemen one-upping her, in ways that make her character feel highly unintelligible, and with an already strange performance from Pike, that features a supposedly South African accent that feels closer in-line with a combination of British, Australian, and even parts of Western Kentucky, it emphasizes distraction away from where the focus needed it most, feeling like a far cry from Daniel Radcliffe’s antagonist turn in “Now You See Me 2”, which was among that film’s only highlights. Likewise, the filmmaking here lacks any semblance of magic to play into the spectacle of what it’s showcasing, particularly in the film’s overindulgence of C.G-heavy imagery that wipes any semblance of naturalism to what we’re coherently interpreting. In ways that strangely mirror actual magicians themselves, the answer to the tricks feel less impressive when you know how everything is constructed, a problem that wouldn’t hit as confrontationally if not for the lackluster level of effects used to articulate such magnifying feats. Most problematic are the obviously greenscreen backdrops used during the aforementioned funhouse sequences, where the outlines of the actors feel like the only tangible influence to so much overwhelming artificiality, and though this paved the way for the production to render a stylishly sleek set design to otherwise insurance commercial consistency in the movie’s imagery, it instead continuously takes the easy way out in smothering ambition, exuding an ugly and lifeless canvas, without any semblance of magic to its filmmaking. Finally, while I normally wouldn’t have a problem with a film that doesn’t overstay its welcome, I was overcome by a feeling of rushed and abridged storytelling, on account of the movie’s editing consistencies hurling us along at a breakneck pace, in turn allowing us so little time to spend with these characters and the measured stakes assembled from their missions. Because it never slows down to build the tension of the circumstance, the movie’s pacing becomes tediously taxing in a foot always on the gas pedal, and with the reminder of so many moments from the movie’s trailers not being found anywhere in its finished product, it only further conveys that this movie was a victim of a vicious hack and slash in post-production, feeling like a shell of perhaps the elevating third installment that it at least could’ve been.

OVERALL
“Now You See Me, Now You Don’t” responsibly embraces a refreshingly self-aware kind of levity that feels like a breath of fresh air from its sternly serious predecessor, but simultaneously lacks any kind of compelling magic, on account of a substandard screenplay that turns the same tricks, as well as fumbled filmmaking that relies a bit too heavily on artificiality to sell the magnitude of its turns. While the decorated ensemble flourish familial chemistry that shines under the brightest of lights, the exasperated air exhausted from a convolutedly nonsensical twist and tragically forgettable turn from Rosamund Pike, allowing this third installment the impressive feat of being able to disappear from theaters in the blink of an eye

My Grade: 5.1 or D