Now You See Me 2 (2016)

Now You See Me 2 (2016) - Movie Review

Now You See Me 2 is a sequel to the 2013's Now You See Me, and once again stars the four horsemen, who this time find their selves being recruited by someone else in order to pull off a heist only they can perform, while dealing with other shit along the way.

I enjoyed the first one when it came out. I liked it for what it was, a fun, entertaining, pop corn flick not to be taken seriously. And this one follows the same path while upping the ante like a typical sequel. There was this comradery to the group giving you the feel that time has past between them. They definitely could have done more with it though.

Most of the old cast is back and once again delivered good performances all round. Lizzy Caplan replaced Isla Fisher as the female horsemen. Now I was worried at first because in her first scene, she felt annoying and way over the top. But luckily that was the end of that because as it turned out, she was a great addition to the group, and ultimately felt better than Isla Fisher. She brought this fun energy to the group that I really enjoyed and was an all round likable character. Also, Mr. Potter joined the cast and played as the main baddie, which was fun in its own way, especially in the later scenes with Michael Cain.

The magic sequences were bigger and more ridiculous this time around, and highly entertaining. Some of them did require you to suspend your disbelief an awful lot.

With the story continuation from the previous part, the movie made it more convoluted than it already was. Twists and turns, conveniences and coincidences, just like the last part but notched up, making a mess at times. Also, Chinese character portions felt really forced, like added in the last minute to increase revenue from China.

All in all, I enjoyed it about as much as the first one. The story is messy, and just like the first one, you have to suspend your disbelief a lot in order to enjoy what it actually is, and if you can do that, then by all means give it a watch. Otherwise, you'll find it stupid.

7/10

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