"The films that manage to handle magic well either fully embrace their own artificiality (think Nightmare Alley or Santa Sangre) or delight in exposing the machinery of how the tricks work (think The Prestige). The ones that fail wind up somewhere precariously in between, convinced that piling extra layers of disbelief atop our already suspended disbelief will suffice to enchant us."
"Now You See Me: Now You Don't continues the adventures of the Horsemen, a group of socially conscious magicians whose wild, popular shows double as heists during which they steal and/or undermine the sinister efforts of the rich and powerful and spread their bounty to an adoring public. What could be more fun than some abracadabra and cathartic wealth redistribution? "Wars, pandemics, climate change, AI ... Let's face it, we all need magic more than ever," we're told early on in this new one,"
"But in truth they're just wannabe-superhero movies, turning their heroes not into master illusionists and tricksters but people who possess what appear to be special powers: wizards. Hypnotist Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson, presumably taking time off from filming AI commercials) isn't just a guy"
Magic on film is difficult because cinema inherently manipulates through cuts and cheats, so successful magic films either embrace artifice or reveal trick mechanisms. Films that try to conceal their methods often pile disbelief upon viewers and become tedious or infuriating. Now You See Me: Now You Don't follows the Horsemen, socially conscious magicians whose shows double as heists, but the film turns illusionists into superhero-like wizards with implausible powers. Characters who should be skilled tricksters are depicted as possessing instantaneous mind control and other supernatural abilities, undermining the promise of genuine cinematic magic.
Read at Vulture
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