Now You See Me 2 (2016)

The Four Horsemen resurface, and are forcibly recruited by a tech genius to pull off their most impossible heist yet.

Director:

Jon M. Chu

Writers:

Ed Solomon (screenplay by), Ed Solomon (story by)

Stars:

Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson

4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jesse Eisenberg	...	J. Daniel Atlas
Mark Ruffalo	...	Dylan Rhodes
Woody Harrelson	...	Merritt McKinney / Chase McKinney
Dave Franco	...	Jack Wilder
Daniel Radcliffe	...	Walter Mabry
Lizzy Caplan	...	Lula
Jay Chou	...	Li
Sanaa Lathan	...	Deputy Director Natalie Austin
Michael Caine	...	Arthur Tressler
Morgan Freeman	...	Thaddeus Bradley
David Warshofsky	...	Agent Cowan
Tsai Chin	...	Bu Bu
William Henderson	...	Young Dylan
Richard Laing	...	Lionel Shrike
Henry Lloyd-Hughes	...	Allen Scott-Frank

Storyline

One year after outwitting the F.B.I. and winning the public's adulation with their Robin Hood-style magic spectacles, The Four Horsemen resurface for a comeback performance in hopes of exposing the unethical practices of a tech magnate. The man behind their vanishing act is none other than Walter Mabry, a tech prodigy who threatens the Horsemen into pulling off their most impossible heist yet. Their only hope is to perform one last unprecedented stunt to clear their names and reveal the mastermind behind it all.

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Plot Keywords:

magic | ambigram | rube goldberg machine | thumb drive | confusion | 

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Taglines:

If you think you've seen it all take another look.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence and some language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Merritt (Woody Harrelson) said he wasn't a "David of Michelangelo" under the suit, in the first movie. In this movie, he said he was a David "from the neck down".

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Goofs

In the magic shop in Macau, both Morgan Freeman and Mark Ruffalo's characters refer to speaking Mandarin. In Macau, they speak Cantonese Chinese, not Mandarin Chinese.

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Quotes

Dylan Rhodes: Come on, you're the one who said that you believe that this road led to the great wizard behind the curtain.
Thaddeus Bradley: I did.
Dylan Rhodes: And that you'd finally get to look him in the eyes.
Thaddeus Bradley: [smiles] I am.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Another Top 10 Worst Movie Plot Twists (2018)

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Soundtracks

Extra Large Shoes
Written by Jay Chou (as Jay Chou Chieh-Lun), Vincent Fang (as Fang Wen-Shan)
Performed by Jay Chou
Courtesy of JVR Music Int'l Ltd.

User Reviews

Miss the "magic" of the first, but still entertaining

I really enjoyed the first NOW YOU SEE ME film. I thought that film's premise "magicians robbing a bank" was original and the execution of the unique script by Ed Solomon and Boaz Yakin by director Louis Leterrier was strong. Add to that the casting - Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher and Dave Franco as "The Four Horseman", Melanie Laurent, Common and (especially) Mark Ruffalo as the cops who were chasing them and sprinkle in good ol' Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman into a plot that kept you guessing to the end and you had a fun ride.

My only question was, could the sequel capture the...wait for it...MAGIC (yes I went there) of the original?

And my answer is...sort of.

Kind of like seeing a magic show for the 2nd time, the spark of originality and wonderment was mostly missing this time around, consequently NOW YOU SEE ME 2 turned into a fairly standard crime/action caper - but with magic instead of guns, cars or fights.

All that said, I was still entertained by this film, but that enjoyment was filled with an undercurrent of disappointment as I wanted to by "wowed" like I was with the first film.

The script - written by Ed Solomon, one of the writers of the original, struck me as a "job script", that is, a script written for money from the studio vs. a "passion script" where the author has an idea they are passionate about and that passion is shown on the screen. Add to that the fact that Jon M.Chu - director of GI JOE: RETALIATION (not exactly CITIZEN KANE) - helmed this film and you have a movie that feels professional, competent and workman-like.

What saves this movie is the performances. Three of the horsemen are back (Isla Fisher had to bow out due to a pregnancy) and the bi- play and the interaction between Eisenberg, Harrelson and Franco fits like an old glove. They get to interact with Ruffalo more in this film and that's a plus. Freeman and Caine return and are as dependable as ever and newcomers Daniel Radcliffe, Tsai Chin and (especially) Jay Chou were fun. Only Lizzy Caplan's Lula didn't really work for me - I thought she was trying to hard to fill in for Fisher.

Interestingly enough, I could shake the feeling, as I was watching this film, that I was watching the 2nd chapter in a trilogy, even though this one did NOT end in a cliffhanger. Sure enough, upon further review, NOW YOU SEE ME 3 is currently filming.

All in all, I enjoyed this film, I just wish I could have been surprised more, like I was in the first film.

7 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank (of Marquis)

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA Mexico France Hong Kong

Language:

English Mandarin Cantonese

Release Date:

10 June 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Now You See Me 2

Filming Locations:

Teddington Lock, Teddington, Middlesex, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$90,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$22,383,146, 12 June 2016

Gross USA:

$65,075,540

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$334,897,606

Company Credits

Production Co:

Summit Entertainment, TIK Films, K/O Paper Products

Technical Specs

Runtime:

129 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Atmos DTS (DTS: X)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1