You may have missed the sequel to the unlikely 2013 success Now You See Me hitting the cinemas, due to some long-anticipated films coming to the big screen over the next month. However, with the film’s incredible cast, including the addition of Daniel Radcliffe, and even more mind-blowing trickery than the original, this is certainly not a film to be overshadowed by the likes of The Legend of Tarzan or The BFG.
As already mentioned, the cast for this film is even more impressive than the first. With Morgan Freeman, Michael Cane, Mark Ruffalo, and Jesse Eisenberg reprising their roles, it’s already set to be a great follow-on from the original. We also see a new side of the one magician that can’t get the hang of card tricks; Woody Harrelson, as he plays his character’s twin brother, Chase McKinney. The only original cast member missing is Isla Fisher, who is replaced with Lizzy Caplan to take over the female role. Her character, Lula May is a completely different character to the previous female horseman, which worked very well. However, the only complaint to be said about her would be the cheesy and Americanised humour that sometimes gets a little too over the top.
Daniel Radcliffe playing a villain is something Harry Potter fans would either be intrigued to see or hate the idea of. Alas, he did a brilliant and very convincing job of playing a character that was quite frankly the complete opposite of his fame-making one. Another member from the original is Dave Franco, a controversial actor, forever in the shadow of his older brother James. However, his acting has improved so much that he will barely annoy you and you may actually enjoy watching him in this sequel. All in all, this whole review could be about the cast because they were all spot on.
Rather than redoing the original - like so many sequels seem to do – there is a brand new original storyline running throughout the film, which is absolutely jam-packed with surprises and twists. The whole movie keeps you guessing throughout, right to the very end, and that’s helped by the intriguing and in depth characters such as Tsai Chin and Jay Chou. There is also a love story running throughout the film, but it’s subtle enough not to take over the story and yet humorous enough not to make you sick. They introduce us to a much larger organisation that the horsemen have been unknowingly involved in, and gives the audience an insight into these higher goings on (something that could carry through to more films).
The rhythm of the film is fast-paced and you’ll never get bored, however, that does mean that you’ll struggle to find an acceptable point for a toilet break. The exciting, fun and intense music helps not only the storyline but also the progression of all of the characters, but mostly Atlas and Dylan. The perfect balance has been created in a story line deep enough to keep you interested, while not being so confusing that you can’t keep up. The exciting and mesmerising tricks keep your eyes glued to the screen, in particular a special trick involving rain in London – oh, how British.
‘Magicians’ and ‘cool’ aren’t words that you’d tend to put together, however, this film, similarly to the original, makes magicians cool. Also, in a world where sequels just generally aren’t very good, this has to be one of the best, and potentially rivals the first...
Maybe that’s a bit of a stretch, but it’s certainly close to being as good as the first, and will yet again will surprise you, excite you and is just plain fun.
Now You See Me 2 is on general release now.
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