Now You See Me (2013) * *

Directed by:  Louis Leterrier

Starring:  Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, David Franco, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Melanie Laurent

Now You See Me is so full of surprises, swerves, and misdirection that it assumes few will realize how ridiculous it is.    It begins with an intriguing premise and quickly spirals downward into a ludicrous plot.       I'll describe the setup.   Four street magicians/con artists are summoned to a meeting place by a mysterious person in a blue hoodie whose face is not seen.    This is to be used to set us up later for the Big Reveal.     Fast forward to one year later and the four magicians are performing in a Las Vegas show with enough lights, music, and visual effects to make David Copperfield envious.    "For our last trick, we're going to rob a bank," proclaims Danny Atlas (Eisenberg).    After the trick is performed and the money allegedly stolen from a Paris bank rains down on the delighted crowd, FBI agent Dylan Rhodes (Ruffalo) receives word the Paris bank was indeed robbed of $3 million.    I will not reveal any plot points from this point forward, but I will pose the questions that popped into my head as the film wore on. 

*  Why are the four magicians given so little screen time?    Why should we care about them? 

*  Did the plan really hinge on things the plotters couldn't possibly foresee, such as the outcome of several car chases, foot races, standing in front of the correct tree in Central Park at the exact time they needed to be standing in front of it, and being able to escape hundreds of FBI agents in various places?

*  Considering how costly the setups, tricks, and distractions the plotters used to keep the FBI at bay must be, at what point do the plotters break even?  

*  How did the Morgan Freeman character know everything the magicians were going to do or how they did it?  

*  How does Mark Ruffalo's FBI agent Rhodes manage to keep his facial hair at just a stubble for days on end?

*  Where did the magicians find the time and equipment to set up these elaborate contraptions, such as the makeshift one on top of an abandoned Queens warehouse, when the FBI is only a few steps behind?

*  After robbing a bank and committing other crimes, did one of the magicians actually say, "I don't know if I want do anything that would put me in jail."?

*  Did the magicians really go through all of this without knowing who they were working for?

*  Did the mastermind behind all of this really need to have a day job?  

It's a bad sign when I watch an entire movie and I know less about it than when I entered the theater.    Maybe Morgan Freeman should've been on hand to answer my questions.    He seemed to know almost everything else.    You'll see what I mean.