Magicians can change the world. The sequel to Lionsgate’s heist thriller taps into a mistrust of global capitalism and, as it happens, Brits are an integral part of the movie’s big reveal. Crowds of Londoners scream with joy as they embrace a future free of divisive con-merchants.
Post-Brexit, most of the Londoners I know are hyperventilating with confusion and dread. Will they fall for NYSM2’s escapism tricks? It seems unlikely. A friend dozed off during the screening. Whoops. Now you see them. Now you don’t.
True confession: I have a soft spot for this franchise. Heroes Jack, Daniel, Merritt and Dylan (Dave Franco, Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson and Mark Ruffalo) are nerds. There’s not a bulging muscle in sight. In fact, Ruffalo, best known for playing The Hulk in the Marvel movies, is the spit of Detective Columbo. The one change is that Isla Fisher’s sassy escapologist, Henley, has disappeared. Luckily, her replacement, Lula, is played by mordant Lizzy Caplan. Great switcheroo.
Daniel Radcliffe, who pops up as the gang’s super-rich and beardy nemesis, often picks roles that expose his limitations. Not this time. Imagine a 19th-century Russian fop who has just discovered metrosexual chic. Real people trapped in the bubble of wealth are often cartoonish. Radcliffe’s broad portrait contains all sorts of nice brushstrokes.
Meanwhile, new director Jon Chu (Step Up 2, Step Up 3D) proves adept at choreography. A sequence set in a secret facility is a highlight. It should be called “A dance for four bodies and a McGuffin.”
NYSM2, rather like Transformers 4, contains key Chinese characters and was partly shot in China. I have no idea if the Masons are big in Middle Kingdom, but this film implicitly suggests that the such a partnership would make the world a better place. Which is a pretty weird thought but par for the course in a project that in its desire to wrong-foot genre fans (and please Chinese audiences) proves both predictable and confounding.
Yes, Eisenberg’s jittery Daniel gets annoying (he turns everything, including water, into whine). Harrelson also runs out of steam as Merritt’s evil twin. Instant hypnosis is used way too many times to get the script out of a jam. And the visuals are overly reliant on CGI. But so what? The adorable Franco says he hopes there will one day be a “Now You See Me 37”. I agree.
Cert 12A, 129 mins
