Now You See Me (2013)

An F.B.I. Agent and an Interpol Detective track a team of illusionists who pull off bank heists during their performances, and reward their audiences with the money.

Director:

Louis Leterrier

Writers:

Ed Solomon (screenplay), Boaz Yakin (screenplay)

Stars:

Jesse Eisenberg, Common, Mark Ruffalo

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jesse Eisenberg	...	J. Daniel Atlas
Mark Ruffalo	...	Dylan Rhodes
Woody Harrelson	...	Merritt McKinney
Isla Fisher	...	Henley Reeves
Dave Franco	...	Jack Wilder
Mélanie Laurent	...	Alma Dray
Morgan Freeman	...	Thaddeus Bradley
Michael Caine	...	Arthur Tressler
Michael Kelly	...	Agent Fuller (as Michael J. Kelly)
Common	...	Evans
David Warshofsky	...	Cowan
José Garcia	...	Etienne Forcier
Jessica Lindsey	...	Hermia (as Jessica C. Lindsey)
Caitriona Balfe	...	Jasmine Tressler
Stephanie Honoré	...	Atlas Groupie

Storyline

Four magicians each answer a mysterious summons to an obscure address with secrets inside. A year later, they are the Four Horsemen, big time stage illusionists who climax their sold-out Las Vegas show with a bank apparently robbed for real. This puts F.B.I. Agents Dylan Rhodes and Interpol Agent Alma Dray on the case to find out how they did it. However, this mystery proves to be difficult to solve, even with the insights of professional illusion exposer Thaddeus Bradley. What follows is a bizarre investigation where nothing is what it seems to be, with illusions, dark secrets, and hidden agendas galore as all involved are reminded of a great truth in this puzzle: the closer you look, the less you see.

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Plot Keywords:

magician | heist | con artist | car full of money | bank robbery | 

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Taglines:

Come in close, because the more you think you see, the easier it'll be to fool you

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Genres:

Crime | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language, some action and sexual content

Did You Know?

Trivia

While in New Orleans, Louisiana, French Interpol Agent Alma Dray (Mélanie Laurent), is wearing a striped shirt. This is a reference to a famous French New Wave movie, Breathless (1960), in which the main female character, Patricia Franchini (Jean Seberg), wears striped clothes throughout the movie. This look, along with short hair, became the "look" throughout the 1960s and 1970s. This "look" has been revamped among celebrities recently, as the popular culture looks to French New Wave as a retro and stylish inspiration.

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Goofs

In the first scene when Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher) is locked in the fish tank, she had to act like she was drowning, so the crew didn't realise when she was actually drowning.

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Quotes

J. Daniel Atlas: Don't worry about it. I'll call you.
Atlas Groupie: You don't have my number.
J. Daniel Atlas: I'm magic. I'll find it. Have a good night.

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Crazy Credits

About halfway through the closing credits a scene is shown where the four horsemen arrive in the desert at an abandoned, dilapidated amusement park in Las Vegas. Appears in both the Blu-Ray Edition and the iTunes Extended Cut.

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Alternate Versions

The Blu-ray release includes an "Extended Edition" that adds almost nine-and-a-half minutes of material.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 20 Worst Movie Endings of All Time (2020)

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Soundtracks

Let's Take a Stroll On the Boardwalk
Composed by Mark Gasbarro
Courtesy of 5 Alarm Music

User Reviews

Promising idea sunk in key areas

"Now You See Me" came out of nowhere and became the sleeper hit of 2013, getting good word of mouth during its theatrical run. Having seen the movie for myself, I am kind of puzzled by its popularity. Certainly, the movie is far from the worst movies I have ever seen - it's colorful, and doesn't have a dead spot despite running almost two hours long.

But there were some things about the movie that annoyed me enough to prevent me from liking it. The biggest problem is with the characters. Except for Freeman's character, there is not one likable character in the movie. The law enforcement agents investigating the magicians are loud and obnoxious, and the four magicians come across as extremely smug. (Also, there is no attempt to give the magicians real and separate personalities - they all act alike.)

The characters were the main reason why I didn't like this movie, but there were other problems as well. One other major annoyance is the depiction of the magic acts. They have been jazzed up with CGI and other special effects so they don't feel like REAL magic acts - they come across as artificial. Also, as the movie progresses, the various feats the magicians pull off slowly become more unbelievable (and not fully explained) that eventually I wanted to cry out loud, "Oh, COME ON!" Less slight of hand and a more realistic approach would have been a much better approach.

(Note to Michael Caine fans: His role is really just an extended cameo appearance.)

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA France

Language:

English French

Release Date:

31 May 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

Now You See Me

Filming Locations:

Orpheum Theater - 842 South Broadway, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$75,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$29,350,389, 2 June 2013

Gross USA:

$117,723,989

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$351,723,989

Company Credits

Production Co:

Summit Entertainment, K/O Paper Products, SOIXAN7E QUIN5E

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min 125 min (extended edition)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat SDDS Dolby Atmos Dolby Surround 7.1

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1