The original "Now You See Me" made more than $351 million worldwide, so a sequel was inevitable. Is "Now You See Me 2" better? No, but it's not any worse.
"Now You See Me 2" is louder and more self-important than the original, but that doesn't make it any better. The Four Horsemen of magic are back with a new female member, played by Lizzy Caplan, and a new nemesis, a mean-spirited, arrogant, tech-magnet played by Daniel Ratcliffe.
Wouldn't you know it, it takes all of their collective David Copperfield strength to travel the world and out-illusion the corporate bad guy, and, in the process, learn a little bit about themselves.
None of this star-populated movie makes any sense, but it doesn't matter because when the magic does finally happen, it's harmless, breezy fun.
"Now You See Me 2" is directed with a slick, hyper paintbrush by Jon Chu. He directed a Justin Bieber movie and "G. I. Joe," and that should tell you something.
His latest feels like, "Energy Drink Cinema," where characters over-react because they have had way too much Red Bull.
"Now You See Me 2" is rated PG-13 and in the grand scheme of movies is instantly disposable. But that doesn't matter because it was never intended to be anything other than slick, mindless entertainment.
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On that level it works. On a magic level, it could use a few more tricks.
