The third of the Now You See Me film series that began years ago, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t, at first appears to be a story about and led by J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg) and what he is pursuing. Although in the trailer everyone has seen Atlas say to some younger cast members that the Four Horsemen “are dead to him,” we also see that this is a reintroduction of them, the characters created by Edward Ricourt in the prior films.
He sees a trio of talented illusionists on stage and decides to meet them for the purpose of his goals in mind as well. He confidently invites them to join him on a mission he has been notified of. The trio have goals to serve charity and social activism, so they are aware of some things around the world that are not in the best interest of many. The trio consists of Charlie (Justice Smith), June (Ariana Greenblatt), and Bosco Leroy (Dominic Sessa).
The story is more entertaining than I had anticipated, but in the end, many of the tricks, and some of the humor is like those seen before and that begins to feel predictable.
The reunited quartet is mentalist Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson), card shark Dave Wilder (Dave Franco) and Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher), an escapologist who used to be Danny’s assistant and girlfriend. Morgan Freeman makes a brief appearance as the retired ex-magician, Thaddeus Bradley. He was also once the Grandmaster of The Eye.
Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland, Venom, “Superstore” TV series) directs the film from a script created by four writers of the screenplay, Seth Grahame-Smith, Michael Lesslie, Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. He is reunited with his Zombieland stars (Eisenberg, Harrelson).
When the reunion and introductions are done, the group agrees to work together to steal the world’s biggest diamond. This does not mean that the agreement happens in seconds, as there is still the bickering, insults and who is the leader. While at times fun, it can also be exhausting and/or repetitive.
Veronika Vanderberg (Rosamund Pike), a South African who inherited the diamond business from her family. While she appears to be an upstanding leader in the world, she is an international crime syndicate boss who deals in diamonds with unsavory folks. She is good in her role as a villain which may be different for her from other roles in the past.
The action is good, swift and keeps the story moving. We see all the skills the younger trio brings to the mission with the talented Horsemen, and this will likely appeal to a varied generation of audience members.
Fans of the series do have an opportunity to see how effective the younger cast’s skills are and provide an opportunity for them to ponder if there will be a fourth installment. And if not a fourth, it opens up other possibilities. You decide – the film arrives in theaters nationwide on November 14, 2025.
Source: Lionsgate
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