Now You See Me | Eastern North Carolina Now

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Look closely, because the closer you think you are, the less you will actually see

    This essential one phrase maxim is this film, veritable bookends in an analogy of its contents from start to finish. And it is a good film to the extent that this one maxim is true, and most entertaining for those of us who take the big bite of this intriguing, this alluring bait of a well portrayed prestidigitation in images made permanent in celluloid.

    And to the extent that I was probably an easy mark, the film worked for me, just as some magic works for me, possibly on me, and not always for, or on others. I was that guy drawn to the edge of his seat, pledging myself to understand the trick, the illusion, and ultimately, involuntarily surrendering myself into the prestige of the illusion, ripe for the picking, mystified and humbled by that conquest of my limited powers to perceive.

    The film, "Now You See Me", is a film about easy marks, and some not so easy, which at some point all fall for the allure of Man's natural wonderment to understand what is not easily understandable, to endeavor to outwit what is nebulous in substance, but yet so real as an illusion. The consequence of which is the remarkable allure of the film and neatly separates the participants, the audience, into those that enjoyed the film and those that did not. It's my estimation that many more liked it than did not.

    Accordingly, it fell upon the celluloid illusion masters, acting as a film company, most notably led by Director Louis Leterrier, screenwriters Ed Solomon, Boaz Yakin, Edward Ricourt and, of course, the most important component of this illusion of a film - the stage provocateurs - the actors.
"Come in close, because the more you think you see, the easier it'll be to fool you." This was the motto, the creed, the craft of these four associates, these "Four Horsemen:" (from left to right) J. Daniel Atlas, played by Jesse Eisenberg; Henley Reeves, played by Isla Fisher; Merritt McKinney, played by Woody Harrelson; Jack Wilder, played by Dave Franco: Above and below. Click the image to expand to as much as 1000 pixels wide.
    The actors shown in the images above did an admirable job of introducing the pledge, turning the attention of the audience and enforcing the prestige. The audience was their mark and I estimate most were easily converted to their will.

For whatever reason, it does appear that playing cards are at the heart of every good magic trick: J. Daniel Atlas, Jesse Eisenberg (above); Jack Wilder, Dave Franco (James Franco's kid-brother - below). Click the image to expand to as much as 1000 pixels wide.
    The enticement of this illusory who-done-it is that everyone is marked to be fooled by this grand scheme that is planned by an unknown entity, and carried out by the four magicians ominously trademarked as "The Four Horsemen." These four expert craftsmen are mostly unknown as practiced purveyors of their respective crafts, but outstanding nonetheless, especially as a team, whose sum of their individual strengths, like a wound rope, are made stronger as a bound intertwined unit. Their gathered force was as underestimated as it was indomitable, and its collected power was the impetus of their success, or failure.
"The Four Horsemen" meet in Brooklyn at what would become their headquarters and learned about their appointed tasks amid a liquid flowing puzzle and dry ice drama: Above and below. Click the image to expand to as much as 1000 pixels wide.
    It was an understood power that made it possible for "The Four Horsemen" to attract a wealthy benefactor, Arthur Tressler, played by Michael Caine, which made it all possible to achieve the practibly impossible.
Here, three of "The Four Horsemen" get to really know their their benefactor, Mr. Tressler, Michael Caine: Above. And here, one of the Four Horsemen meet special agents Dylan Rhodes, played by Mark Ruffalo, and Alma Dray, played by Mélanie Laurent, who are investigating the first of their three illusions that resulted in large sums of cash gone missing: Below. Click the image to expand to as much as 1000 pixels wide.