Movie Review: Now You See Me 2: The Second Act
Card tricks never seem to get old, but like anything else in entertainment, to impress, sometimes the ante must be upped: more cards, more unlikely odds, impossible predictions.
“Now You See Me 2: The Second Act” follows this mantra (and Hollywood’s suit) by bringing its viewers impossible gags, inexplicable feats and enough sleeve tricks and twists to outwit the casual viewer (I still haven’t verified if you can make rain stop through trickery). However, unlike most overloaded Hollywood sequels, “NYSM2” achieves a watchable flow and narrowly avoids being cumbersome because of one thing: its characters.
Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo), who stole the spotlight in the dying minutes of Now You See Me, remains the prominent protagonist in “NYSM2,” though the film skillfully juggles the Horsemen as well, with a sardonic Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson) returning alongside the young heartthrob Jack Wilder (Dave Franco), an ever brainier-than-thou J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg) and new addition, Lula (Lizzy Caplan), as a hasty replacement for Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher, who missed this sequel due to pregnancy). There is also a heavy focus on the mysterious and vulturous Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman) who has a few tricks up his own sleeve, as well as a zemblantious return from Michael Caine, playing Arthur Tressler, and a new, unbalanced character, Walter, played by Daniel Radcliffe.
What makes “Second Act” different is it actually creates some emotional space; moments where the audience can breathe through the twisted plot and invest some sympathy into the characters. This space makes “Second Act” not only an above-average sequel, but also more enjoyable than its predecessor. Where “NYSM” fails to create tangible characters, “NYSM2” takes the stage. The humor in “NYSM” however, is better than the sorry attempts in “NYSM2”, which only managed to conjure awkward silences.
Though above-average for a follow up, “NYSM2” still suffers from sequel sickness. Magic can only do so much.
– mikeburnham3@gmail.com