You gotta give it up for preposterous movie ideas, and the concept behind Louis Leterrier’s (The Transporter) new film, Now You See Me, is delightfully silly, especially considering the quality of its cast. Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Mark Ruffalo, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Melanie Laurent, Isla Fisher, and Common (plus Dave Franco), star in this tale of “The Four Horsemen,” a team of the world’s flashiest, most in-your-face-iest illusionists who pull off a series of daring heists against corrupt business leaders during their performances, showering the stolen profits all Robin-Hood-style onto their audiences. Take that 1%ers! The FBI is all, “Oh no you didn’t,” but the Horsemen are simply too slippery to be caught. Until now, presumably, otherwise there won’t be much conflict in the film.
This movie would have been even better if the Horsemen were a super-team of existing magicians, like The Avengers. David Copperfield, David Blaine, Chris Angel, and uh, let’s say The Amazing Johnathon. And then they all die. Except Amazing Johnathon. He used to pretend to drink Windex on stage. I thought that was hilarious when I was 11.
