Rating of
2.5/4
Even Average Magic is Still Entertaining
Chris Kavan - wrote on 11/22/25
If movies are like a meal to be savored and you want prime rib, you thrown on The Godfather. Some lobster? Citizen Kane. Perhaps some fast food - The Fast and the Furious franchise. But comfort food - ah yes, sometimes you just want a nice bowl of mac and cheese. Easy. Tasty. Not the best for you, but sometimes it just hits the spot. That is Now You See Me: Now You Don't (and the other two for that matter). It's not going to win any awards. Some things don't make a lot of sense but it's enjoyable for what it is and sometimes it's just what you want.
Coming in a nearly a decade after Now You See Me 2, the film opens with a seemingly surprise underground show of our favorite Four Horsemen: J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher), Jack Wilder (Dave Franco) and Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson) - complete with sharing the wealth by putting some douche crypto bros in their place. But the smoke and mirrors are soon revealed as a high-tech fake out by a trio of sly new magicians/con artists in the behind-the-scenes mastermind Charlie (Justice Smith) the acrobatic pickpocket/locksmith June (Ariana Greenblatt) and the master of disguise Bosco (Dominic Sessa). When the trio return to their hideout, they are greeted by the actual Atlas himself, who says he was given a new task by The Eye (the mysterious justice-at-any-cost magical organization) to recruit them for a task: to steal the Heart Diamond from the rich Veronika Vanderberg (Rosamund Pike), whose family has a shady history and funnels money through various criminal organizations worldwide.
It isn't long before our quartet are joined by the remaining horsemen, who also received their own calling cards, and the group finds themselves on a whirlwind global mission that takes them to a literal magic castle in France to the richest of the rich lands of Abu Dhabi. Morgan Freeman shows up for a cameo along the way and Lizzy Caplan gives us a third-act surprise - along with a fun plot twist in the end. Pike isn't as fun of a villain, however, but it's fun to see all the subordinates, mercs, cops and everyone else get magicked to hell and back.
This third entry, however, has the same problems as the second film - a very shaky and seat-of-your pants kind of plot that is all over the place. The death of a major character seems brushed off rather easily and adding in more characters just means we get less development overall. Still, even with that - the franchise still remains solid entertainment - provided you don't think too much into it. The ending also promises there is still more that could easily come - hopefully not a full decade this time around.
All in all, I had a fun time watching this even if it did amount to mostly empty calories.
