NOW YOU SEE ME 2 (2016) Review
Directed by Jon M. Chu
18 months after the events in the first film, Now You See Me 2 returns with old and new characters still centering the lives of the four horsemen. After Henley (Isla Fisher) leaves the team, Lula (Lizzy Caplan) joins as the newest female member of the group. The four horsemen together with Dylan (Mark Ruffalo) tries to live under the radar after their heist more than a year ago but that already is ridiculous even if you know how to disappear in a second.
The film tries to show that the stakes are higher this time, that they’re not the ones in control of what’s happening. As they try to make things complicated, the film gets tedious by the minute, that it almost is hard to enjoy. Caplan is a wonderful addition though, she gives the film the needed pause from all the business the film presents.
It’s hard to get along with the ridiculousness the story goes from here to there. The film doesn’t even go above the standards of the usual sequel to a film, it overdoes everything the first film did but it gets ludicrous and tiring to watch as it needed to explain how the illusion happens and not in a decent way. With all the talent the film has, it’s sad and disappointing that they ended up with something generic and clouded with half-baked ideas.
The whole film feels like they’re hesitant on going big or they didn’t have a decent screenplay prior to the filming. Maybe the magic is gone, but clearly they didn’t know how the first one actually worked except to the part where they hired the talents of Lizzy Caplan.
2 OUT OF 5 STARS
“Now You See Me 2 ” is now showing in Philippine cinemas nationwide from Pioneer Films. Rated PG by the MTRCB.