Now You See Me: Now You Don't (2025) * *

 

Directed by:  Ruben Fleischer

Starring:  Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher, Dominic Sessa, Rosamund Pike, Morgan Freeman, Ariana Greenblatt, Justice Smith, Lizzy Caplan

Now You See Me: Now You Don't is the third installment of the successful series following the exploits of The Four Horsemen, four magicians who ply their trade on amoral billionaires and relieve them of their riches.  They're Robin Hoods of the 21st century, but when you take into account the amount of money and planning it takes to finance these schemes, where is the break-even point?  Is it even worth it financially, or are they in it for the pleasure of watching the rich become poor or go to prison?

Now You See Me: Now You Don't begins, however, with a trio of the next generation of Horsemen publicly hacking a corrupt crypto jerk and distributing his ill-gotten gains amongst the poor and getting him arrested for his shady business practices.  This catches the attention of Daniel Atlas (Eisenberg), who recruits them for another mission:  To expose billionaire diamond mogul Veronkia Vandenberg (Pike-and I love her accent she employs for the movie) and steal the world's most valuable diamond from her.  That part is done rather easily.  It's when she sends her goons to kill everyone that things get dicey, and rather boring. 

It seems the Horsemen broke up due to personal squabbles since Now You See Me 2, but they reunite with just some minor bickering going on.  Their sleight-of-hand tricks in which they and the newbies show each other in games of one-upmanship are not really possible in the physical world we occupy, to paraphrase a line from Ocean's Twelve.  They look impressive, but we know they aren't really happening unless the Horsemen have become The Avengers.  

The Now You See Me doesn't live in the world of realism and doesn't need to.  The series is mostly forgettable and is a swerve fest. The actors are having a good time, but the plot twists and turns are so ludicrous they defy any suspension of disbelief.  There's suspension, and then whatever the Now You See Me series asks of its audience.