Now You See Me

Now You See Me (2013) probably sounded awesome at the pitch meeting. A heist movie centering on four magicians-turned-con artists, featuring some of Hollywood's biggest stars? Sold. The end result though is underwhelming, with director Louis Leterrier plowing through thriller cliches with a distinct lack of imagination.

A mysterious contact brings together four small-time magicians: street hustler Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg); escape artist Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher); disgraced mentalist Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson); and spoon bending Jack Wilder (David Franco). A year later they're headlining a show, The Four Horsemen, in Las Vegas for entrepreneur Arthur Tressler (Michael Caine). Their act combines magic with crime, apparently using their "powers" to rob banks and swindle millionaires. FBI Agent Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) and Interpol cop Vargas (Melanie Laurent) team up to uncover their secret.

Now You See Me succeeds on its most basic level. It hits all the right heist movie notes, mixing genre-required tension with the razzle-dazzle of stage magic. I especially liked Henley's escape act with a tank full of hungry piranhas. The main cast registers instant chemistry, trading zingers and generally earning our affection. Wisely, the filmmakers keep things light with plenty of humor: during an early magic show, Rhodes becomes the butt of two hilarious gags, while skeptic Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman) has fun deflating the Horsemen's pretensions.

Too bad Leterrier and his three screenwriters never advance beyond stage one. Things get so wrapped up in legerdemain that the plot gets lost, frequently doubling back for breathless revelations. In particular, Leterrier treats a magician's secret society so superficially it becomes an irrelevant detail. The Rhodes and Vargas B-plot mines every conceivable buddy cop cliche (yes, they fall for each other). Movies where "nothing is as it seems" are particularly vulnerable to logic; adding blockbuster touches like car chases, explosions and fistfights only muddies things further.

Worst is the inevitable final twist. Admittedly I didn't see it coming, but only because I hoped no filmmaker would be dumb enough to use it. It's set up as a big revelation but leaves far more questions than answers, and not in a thought-provoking way. Frankly, the movie's not smart enough for this obfuscation to work. I'm reminded of The Tourist (2010), the limp Johnny Depp-Angelina Jolie vehicle hinging on a revelation that M. Night Shymalan would deem asinine.

Jesse Eisenberg repeats his deadpan snarker shtick from The Social Network; Isla Fisher (The Great Gatsby) is his feisty gal pal; Woody Harrelson (The Hunger Games) the grouchy veteran; Dave Franco, some real actor's brother. They're fun to watch even without real characters to play. Morgan Freeman outdoes everyone as a slick Amazing Randi type with his own agenda. On the other hand, Mark Ruffalo anemically recycles his crusty cops from Collateral and Zodiac, while Melanie Laurent (Inglourious Basterds) flounders in the Tyne Daly role. Michael Caine's part barely amounts to a cameo.

As undemanding summer entertainment, you could do worse than Now You See Me. (After all, The Great Gatsby's still playing.) It's just too bad the filmmakers didn't make more of its promising premise than absolutely necessary.