Now You See Me 2 Review

"Are you listening, horsemen? You will get what's coming to you. In ways you can't expect."


Now You See Me 2 was directed by Jon M. Chu and is the sequel to Now You See Me which was directed by Louis Leterrier and was released back in 2013. Most of the original cast from the first film returns for the sequel including Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine and introduces new characters portrayed by Daniel Radcliffe and Lizzy Caplan. This film follows the Horsemen as they attempt a heist to obtain part of a computer system that can get into any other computer but all is not what it seems....

Lets start off by talking about what I enjoyed about the film. This film just like the original film had some really cool magic an illusion sequences a couple that stand out include the actual heist to obtain the computer chip which involves a magic trick involving every member of the Horsemen relying on each other to actually succeed in the heist (one very tense scene!) another stand out magic/illusion sequences would be towards the end of the film involving Jessie Eisenberg controlling the rain which is a visually stunning sequence (really have no idea how the illusion is possible). The acting from the original cast is really good some disappointing performances from new members of the cast but I will get onto that later on in the review. I also thought that the plot was interesting and engaging and built on the world created in the first film and develops into some interesting ideas about "The Eye" and more mythology about this secret organisation which I really enjoyed. I also would like to mention that the opening of the film is very strong probably one of the strongest parts of the film for me, the opening had such a mystical feel to it which really enhanced the world that the film is set in.

On the other hand there are some aspects of the film which I really did not enjoy for example some characters in the film really disappointed me. One of those characters was Walter portrayed by Daniel Radcliffe, for me this was not one of Daniel Radcliffe's finest roles, for me as a villain like character he really did not come across threatening in any way (Im sorry but he didn't), I don't know if it was just a bad performance or bad writing for his character but it really just didn't work. Also another character I had issues with was Merritt's (Woody Harrelson) twin brother (also portrayed by Woody Harrelson), this character was just useless, surely the writer could of come up with something better, the character just seemed like an absolute micky take and I really could not connect with the character at all!. I also felt like the film was abit rushed in some ways, I like how it captured the heist feel for the film but the editing felt unnecessarily fast in sequences where there was no need for the pace of cutting to be fast and seemed as if shots especially in dialogue sequences ended way too quickly then they should have which really took me out of certain sequences in the film.

Overall I think if you enjoyed watching the first film then you are going to enjoy watching this film, mainly because of all the really cool magic and illusion sequences in the film, and trust me they are really cool. But the film suffers from strange fast pacing and badly written new characters that are introduced which really makes the film suffer for me.

Verdict: 3 out of 5 stars