Now You See Me: Now You Don't Review: The Weakest of the Franchise

Now You See Me: Now You Don't brings back all the main characters from the first two installments, played by Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher, Lizzy Caplan, and Morgan Freeman. They introduce some new characters played by Justice Smith, Dominic Sessa, and Ariana Greenblatt. The trailer presents the excitement of the return of a unique franchise with endless possibilities for mystery and amazement, but also provides a predictable rehash with a more modern take on "fighting the power."

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If you were looking forward to either an interesting twist or catching up with the heroes from the previous installments, you will be disappointed on both counts. Without giving away any spoilers, if you've watched the first two films, you will not be surprised. The "requel" model isn't as easy as the Scream franchise has made it look. When introducing a new set of characters and returning previous characters, the new group needs to offer something more interesting, or the old group needs to have something to teach them. Neither is true in this film.

Now You See Me: Now You Don't Review: Acting and Directing

This film features many, many talented actors, including the new group of magicians. The script doesn't have the flair of Eisenberg's monologues from the first film. There is no grit or texture to the script. The actors do their best to be entertaining.

Perhaps the film had too much stuffed into it. The "Requel" model needs to walk a tightrope between the "greatest hits" aspect and introducing a "new sound." The composition felt like the right notes were never hit. The nostalgia carries the film for a good chunk, but aside from the initial heist scene with the whole group, it never really finds the same rhythm. Maybe it's because a mystery with too many pieces collapses in on itself. It's why the Four Horsemen worked so well. Four pieces moving to weave a mystery is few enough to manage something interesting. When the story grows to eight pieces, it turns some characters into bit players or red herrings (annoying plot devices).

Now You See Me: Now You Don't Review, Rating, and Ranking In Brief

Review: Now You See Me: Now You Don't feels a bit like an attempt to create a "fight the power" story for Gen Z, and it comes off as immature and not very well thought out. The general idea is that they don't need institutions to change the world. Instead, all you need is your moral certitude and a good amount of pluck. The plot twist (if it indeed intends to be that) is obvious. The original characters are largely set pieces, accepting their fate as a useless generation, aside from encouraging the youths.

Rating: 2/5

Ranking: 31/38 (Ranking in the total number of films I've seen in the theater in 2025)

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