I’ve never been a big fan of prestidigitation, or magic, because it is all illusion.  Yet Louis Leterrier’s new movie Now You See Me enticingly explores how such illusion is created and sustained, invites skepticism, and mostly succeeds in persuading the audience that all trickery is based in selfishness and greed — all before dropping its final bombshell of a plot twist.  It’s an engaging film with grander ambitions than this year’s other magic movie, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, and a lot more style as well.  Thanks to its razzle dazzle and star power, it’s worth a look.

Four struggling magicians with various specialties are brought together under mysterious circumstances.  Within a year they are The Four Horsemen, playing a big gig in Las Vegas, when their act suddenly involves an onstage bank robbery — from France.  The FBI becomes involved, but lack of proof sets the magicians free, and the game is afoot.  The stunts, and stakes, become bigger, and the world takes notice.

It’s an intriguing premise for a story, and Leterrier plays it for all it is worth.  It’s all clever, tech savvy, sprightly edited fun with the young (er) folk taking advantage of the old pros who cannot spot the illusions soon enough.  Mystery surrounds the Four Horsemen (Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher and Dave Franco) from within — they don’t really know each other very well — and from without — no one knows what they will do next.  The people trying to catch them (Mark Ruffalo, Melanie Laurent, Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine) are always several steps behind, and as the stakes rise, the tension mounts quite nicely.

Even knowing that things are not what they seem, and spotting the most important clue early in the story, I was still unable to predict the final act, nor the identity of the person who sets the Four Horsemen in motion.  Ultimately Now You See Me may be a bit too clever for its own good — and there are a couple of “planned” events that are simply not believable — but I must admit that the film was a lot more fun than I expected it to be.  Magic is definitely in the air.  ☆ ☆ ☆.  19 July 2013.