The first mistake the sequel to “Now You See Me” made was in not being titled “Now You Don’t.” The second was in committing the cardinal sin of magic, showing ones hand. In this case, it’s not a trick being revealed, but the truth: “Now You See Me 2” is nothing more than a cash-in sequel. It’s not that fact that is the reveal, but in how blatant it is that this is a cobbled together production. Most sequels are cash-ins, but most are good at hiding it. You’d think a film about magic tricks would adept at secrecy.
“Now You See Me” was a surprise hit, meaning the studio would want a sequel. The problem was the film wrapped up rather neatly, with only the reveal of the Eye and the imprisonment of Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman) acting as possible jumping points. And those are the jumping points in which “Now You See Me 2” launches itself from. Too bad the landing is limp.
The Horsemen have been laying low for a year now, waiting on Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) to give them the call to reappear. Their way of laying low is by residing in their normal habitat and making themselves visible to all, as we see J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg) return to his apartment without a hint of shrouding himself. It is there he encounters Lula (Lizzy Caplan), an “amateur magician” in his eyes that he feels is a fangirl. Her true intention is to replace Henley Reeves as the sole female in the horseman, as Isla Fisher was pregnant and couldn’t reprise her role. They actually have Lula state this in her introduction to the horseman.
Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson) and Jack Wilder (Dave Franco) weren’t pregnant and do return, acting as mentors to one another in their specific field of magic. Merritt is teaching Jack hypnosis and Jack is teaching him card tricks. One seems more impressive than the other. They, along with the other Horseman, are finally called into action. They are tasked with ousting CEO playboy Owen Case (Ben Lamb) as a corrupt businessman who’s invading his users’ privacy for personal gain. Just as their parlor tricks are working and they have Owen confessing via hypnosis, their hijacked by an unknown assailant who reveals that Wilder is still alive and that Rhoads is their personal mole within the FBI.
That assailaint turns out to be Walter Mabry (Daniel Radcliffe), Owen’s former partner who is seeking revenge. What he wants is the chip that his partner has that gives him access to everyone’s privacy. He wants to control the grid, so much so that he faked his own death so nobody would suspect him. He’s hiding out in China, mainly so the film’s producers can increase foreign box office receipts, and he drags the Horseman there to blackmail them into getting him the chip. Arthur Tressler (Michael Caine) also returns, but I’ll be kind enough to not reveal in what capacity. It’s clever enough, I’ll admit to that.
The only Horseman not blackmailed is Dylan, who wasn’t abducted and taken to Macau. In order to save his Horsemen, he reluctantly teams up with arch-nemesis Thaddeus Bradley. This is the one aspect of the story that works, as it’s the one loose end worth visiting. More is revealed about the past of Dylan’s father and what is driving Thaddeus to help his enemy. It seems like simple revenge at first, but more is revealed the longer the film goes.
What doesn’t work is the rest of the plot. The chip is a lackluster MacGuffin that isn’t supported by a sufficient anchor. Mabry’s intentions with the chip are too pedestrian, with his personal battle against magic with science falling on deaf ears. Radcliffe is eclectic as ebullient Mabry, but he’s written so poorly by Ed Solomon & Pete Chiarelli. Same goes for Lizzy Caplan as Lula. She’s written as a kinetic jokester which becomes annoying quickly. Caplan is a lovely actress whose magnetic personality draws the viewer in, but even she can’t elevate this material.
Solomon & Chiarelli’s attempts at humor are bafflingly off the mark. The first film’s humor was only slightly charming, but it was superior to what’s on display here. The script revels in obnoxious humor, going so far to introduce a grossly over-the-top henchman for cheap laughs (that don’t elicit laughter). That henchman would be Merritt’s twin brother Chase, a cackling buffoon with a ridiculous hairpiece that exists solely to be mocked. His whole existence seems to be to make Lula tolerable in comparison.
Director Jon M. Chu doesn’t have the same grasp over the characters and the magic that Louis Leterrier did. He attempts to further develop Atlas’ control issues, but it falls flat. He tries to spark a romance between Lula and Jack, but it feels too forced. He tries to control Merritt’s sarcastic demeanor, but loses his grip. The only characters he has good control over are Dylan and Thaddeus.
“Now You See Me 2” has a few good tricks up its sleeve, but that’s not enough to pull off a successful magic show.
Final Rating: C