Now You See Me 2 is the sequel to the 2013 heist flick about a band of Robin Hood-style magicians who attempt to take down corrupt bankers and businessmen and return their ill-gotten gains to deprived citizens.
Despite middling reviews, the film made over $351 million against a $71 million budget, making this second outing inevitable.
Now You See Me presented ‘magic’ reliant on visual effects and CGI, which left many viewers feeling cheated. These criticisms regarding reality and accuracy – most commonly levelled at films about science and space travel, and never against action yarns – showed a desire for Hollywood magic to be realistic, rather than glittering orgasms of impossible conjuring.
As a result, Now You See Me 2 actually benefits from being a sequel: having established an alternative, magic-filled world in the original, round two invites the audience to enter that world in the knowledge that it’s really not about reality, but a caper-like spectacle. Only those willing to suspend their disbelief and ignore the gaping holes in logic will return – and for them, there is some mindless fun to be had.
Jon M. Chu, taking over the director’s chair from Louis Leterrier, is known for his choreography-heavy work in the Step Up sequels, and he handles the absurd action sequences with aplomb. The cast play to their strengths: Jesse Eisenberg is an egomaniac, Morgan Freeman is cerebral, Woody Harrelson is one-liners and mischief a-go-go and Lizzy Caplan (replacing Isla Fischer) elevates her role as the token quirky female.
Now You See Me 2 is like its predecessor: slick and overprocessed, with some nice humour and hijinks and probably 20 minutes too long. Turn off your brain and you may be mildly entertained.

Now You See Me 2 is out now