Ever watched a sequel of a movie without seeing the original?
This is the situation I found myself in with the movie: Now you see me 2.
Compelled by its trailer, the movie, which revolves around illusionists known as The Four Horsemen, is a blend of magic, heist and comedy, delivering clever tricks and high-stakes actions.
To use a more common term, the four horsemen are magicians capable of great lengths of manipulation that leaves the audience in awe.
This is one of those movies that is difficult to sell its actions in words, as only seeing it by oneself can expose its true strengths.
Make no mistakes, I am not a big fan of “magic on stage” sort of movies, I quickly get bored of circus tricks but this one wasn't exactly the regular shitshow we're vastly familiar with when it comes to movies centered around magicians on stage.
What we might call magic in this case is only a distraction created by the horsemen to enable them achieve a common goal, which is to expose corrupt individuals and redistribute stolen wealth.
Robinhood-type shit, you might say.
Attracted by the presence of figures like Morgan Freeman and Mark Ruffalo, I expected nothing but entertainment because above all, that's why we watch movies, no?
A Tragic Beginning
On witnessing the first event of this movie which is the tragic death of Dylan Rhodes’s (Mark Buffalo) father I quickly recalled these lyrics from the song “Believer” by Imagine Dragons: My life, my love, my drive, it came from pain!
Dylan Rhodes watched his father die performing a trick where he tries to escape a cage he was locked in and dropped into the water.
Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman) was a reporter at the event and wasn't the nicest speaking one as he ridiculed everything Dylan’s father - Lionel Shrike - did, and constantly debunked and exposed his tricks.
Dylan Rhodes blamed Thaddeus Bradley for the death of his father as his consistent mockery pushed Lionel Shrike to attempt the fatal stunt in order to redeem his reputation.
To avenge his father's death, Dylan Rhodes, who was an FBI agent but secretly leading the Four Horsemen on off-hours, framed Thaddeus Bradley for the Horsemen's crimes. He planted evidence that makes it appear as though Thaddeus was the one orchestrating horsemen heists, effectively throwing him in jail.
The Plot In View
The film picks up one year after the events of the first movie. The Four Horsemen: J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson), Jack Wilder (Dave Franco), and newcomer Lula May (Lizzy Caplan)—are in hiding after escaping the FBI, waiting for their next mission from the secret society known as the Eye. Their leader, FBI agent Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo), is still working undercover at this time.
J. Daniel Atlas, frustrated by the lack of direction and communication from the Eye, the secret society guiding the Horsemen, the present leadership of Dylan Rhodes, and feeling undervalued takes matters into his own hands by establishing a secret line of communication with the Eye, hoping to receive direct guidance and validation. However, this move soon proves to be a terrible mistake.
Further into the movie, J. Daniel Atlas's communication with the Eye is exposed to have been a communication with Walter Marby, a tech mogul and the antagonist of the film who happens to be the brains behind OCTA, a leading technology company in the movie known for its innovations in computer hardware and software overtook by Owen Case.
OCTA, the company to be later exposed by the Horsemen developed a powerful microchip that poses a significant threat to privacy as it has the capability to access and decrypt encrypted data on any digital system. This capability raises concerns about mass surveillance and unauthorized access to personal information.
J. Daniel Atlas communication with Walter Marby led to the capture of the Horsemen as Walter was able to manipulate and steal sensitive data from J. Daniel Atlas device while he deluded himself in thoughts of communicating and taking orders from the Eye without the knowledge of the Horsemen's leader, Dylan Rhodes.
The Horsemen, on the assignment of exposing Octa with their comeback performance in New York, had their plan hijacked, and they ended up being exposed themselves. The Horsemen were captured and transported to Macau by Walter Mabry, where he explains how he pulled this off and how he needed the horsemen to steal the microchip developed by OCTA for him before Owen Case could sell it.
Whilst Dylan Rhodes, back in New York, seeks ways to rescue the Horsemen, J. Daniel Atlas over at Macau accepts to steal the microchip with plans to take it to the Eye, not Walter Marby.
Unknowing to J. Daniel Atlas that Walter Marby was the supposed Eye he has been communicating with.
I find this movie a perfect work of Jon M. Chu directing as the plot twists did not in any way lead to the story losing its flavor.
Remember Dylan Rhodes, whose father died in a cage? And Thaddeus Bradley whom he imprisoned? Both appeared in Macau to rescue the horsemen, however, Thaddeus Bradley is first revealed to be working with Walter Marby’s father Arthur Tressler, who sponsored the Four Horsemen in the first film but ultimately became one of their targets and was financially ruined.
Thaddeus Bradley was to deliver Dylan Rhodes and the horsemen to Arthur Tressler, which he did but did so whilst putting things in place to enable the horsemen wiggle their way through to escaping and lastly exposing the crimes of Arthur and his son Walter Marby with the company OCTA.
At the end, Thaddeus Bradley is revealed to have been the Eye all these while as he explains to Dylan Rhodes who has had great hatred for him that he was his father's partner in magic and only pretended to be his rival for show.
As I don't typically rate movies in numbers or stars, but words, “Now You See Me 2” is a great movie with engaging actions of magic, comedy, action and adventure.
Trust me when I say that on the tricks part, they simply were magical.
And I Recommend!
images are screenshots from the movie