Now You See Me (film)

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Now You See Me

Theatrical release poster
Directed byLouis Leterrier
Produced byBobby Cohen
Alex Kurtzman
Roberto Orci
Screenplay byEd Solomon
Boaz Yakin
Edward Ricourt
Story byBoaz Yakin
Edward Ricourt
StarringJesse Eisenberg
Woody Harrelson
Isla Fisher
Dave Franco
Mark Ruffalo
Mélanie Laurent
Michael Caine
Morgan Freeman
Music byBrian Tyler
CinematographyMitchell Amundsen
Larry Fong
Editing byRobert Leighton
Vincent Tabaillon
StudioK/O Paper Products
Distributed bySummit Entertainment
Release date(s)
  • May 31, 2013 (2013-05-31)
Running time115 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
France
LanguageEnglish
Budget$75 million[2][3]
Box office$185,996,533[3]

Now You See Me is a 2013 French-American caper film directed by French director Louis Leterrier starring an international cast. It was released on May 31, 2013.[4]

Contents

  • 1 Plot
  • 2 Cast
  • 3 Music
  • 4 Release
    • 4.1 Rating
    • 4.2 Reception
    • 4.3 Box office
  • 5 References
  • 6 External links

Plot

Four gifted magicians—J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher), Jack Wilder (Dave Franco), and Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson)—are brought together, via Tarot cards, by a mysterious benefactor and, one year later, perform in Las Vegas as "The Four Horsemen" sponsored by Arthur Tressler (Michael Caine), an insurance magnate. For the finale of their performances, the Four Horsemen invite a member of the audience to help them in their next trick: robbing a bank. The man is apparently teleported to a bank in Paris, where he activates an airduct which vacuums up the money and showers it onto the crowd in Las Vegas.

FBI agent Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) is called to investigate the theft and is partnered with Interpol Agent Alma Dray (Mélanie Laurent). They interrogate the Four Horsemen, but release them when no explanation for the theft can be found other than magic. Rhodes then meets Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman), an ex-magician who makes money by revealing the secrets behind other magicians' tricks. Bradley was in the audience and deduced that the Four Horsemen stole the money weeks before, and manipulated the audience into believing it happened in real time.

Rhodes, Dray, and Bradley attend the Four Horsemen's next performance in New Orleans. The group's finale involves them stealing roughly $140 million from Tressler's bank account and distributing it to the audience, which comprises people whose insurance claims had been denied or reduced by Tressler's company. Rhodes attempts to arrest the Four Horsemen, but they escape with help from audience members who were hypnotized to tackle whoever next yelled "Freeze". An infuriated Tressler hires Bradley to expose and humiliate the Four Horsemen in their next performance. Later, while researching the Four Horsemen's background, Dray learns about rumors of a secret society of magicians called "The Eye" and suggests to a skeptical Rhodes the case might be connected to a magician whom Bradley once exposed, and was so humiliated that he attempted a dangerous underwater stunt and drowned.

Before the Four Horsemen's last performance in New York City, Rhodes and Dray locate the group's hideout and confront Wilder there. Wilder attempts to escape in a stolen car, but during the chase it flips and explodes. Rhodes and Dray learn that the Four Horsemen are targeting a particular safe, which is under the surveillance of another FBI team which has taken over the case. They intercept the safe en route to 5 Pointz, but find it empty. The ability of the Four Horseman to continually outwit the FBI leads Rhodes to suspect that there must be a fifth member of the team who controls the Four Horsemen, potentially Dray or Bradley.

At the final performance, Rhodes and Dray once again attempt to apprehend the Four Horsemen, but Atlas, Reeves, and McKinney jump from the rooftop, seemingly transforming into piles of money that rain from the sky into the cheering crowd, but it turns out the money is fake, and it has the Four Horsemen's faces on every dollar. Rhodes and Dray are left with the case unsolved, and they kiss before parting ways.

Bradley returns to his car, discovering it to be filled with the real money from the stolen safe. The FBI arrest Bradley and take him to prison, where Rhodes visits him. Bradley claims he was framed and explains how the group performed the safe heist through use of mirrors. He hopes this will clear him of charges, only to realize Rhodes is the fifth Horseman and mastermind of the entire plot, though Bradley is unable to determine why. Rhodes leaves Bradley in jail and reunites with the Four Horsemen, including Wilder, who faked his death. They are surprised to discover Rhodes is the benefactor who assembled them the previous year, and he initiates them into The Eye.

Rhodes later meets Dray in France and reveals that he is the son of Lionel Shrike, the magician who drowned years ago. He designed the Horsemen plot to obtain revenge on those involved: Bradley, for humiliating his father, and potentially even sabotaging the trick; the bank in Paris and Tressler's company, which refused to pay insurance on his father's death; and the company that produced the safe used in the trick. Due to the inferior quality of metal used to construct the safe, it warped, resulting in Rhodes' father's inability to escape it. Rhodes was living in poverty until The Eye recruited him. After he admits to have fallen in love with her, Dray then decides not to turn him in, and together they overlook the Seine River.

Cast

The Four Horsemen

  • Jesse Eisenberg as J. Daniel Atlas (The Lovers), a street Magician
  • Woody Harrelson as Merritt McKinney (The Hermit), a Mentalist
  • Isla Fisher as Henley Reeves (The High Priestess), an Escape artist
  • Dave Franco as Jack Wilder (Death), a street Magician

FBI & Interpol

  • Mark Ruffalo as Dylan Rhodes
  • Mélanie Laurent as Alma Dray (The only Interpol agent)
  • Michael J. Kelly as Agent Fuller
  • Common as Evans
  • David Warshofsky as Cowan
  • J. Larose as Willy Mears

The Sponsor and the Ex-Magician

  • Michael Caine as Arthur Tressler
  • Morgan Freeman as Thaddeus Bradley

Other characters

  • Conan O'Brien as himself
  • Elias Koteas as Lionel Shrike (uncredited)
  • José Garcia as Étienne Forcier

Music

The official Soundtrack was composed by Brian Tyler, and was released on May 28, 2013 to purchase and digital downloads.

Track List
  1. Now You See Me
  2. The Four Horsemen
  3. Now You See Me (Reprise)
  4. Sun (Jesse Marco Remix) by Two Door Cinema Club
  5. Now You Don't
  6. Entertainment Phoenix
  7. Sleight of the Mind
  8. Now You See Me (Robert DeLong Remix)
  9. Welcome to the Eye
  10. Codec by Zedd
  11. Cineramascope (feat. Trombone Shorty and Corey Henry) Galactic
  12. Now You See Me (Spellbound Remix)

Release

Rating

It was rated PG-13 (for language, some action and sexual content) by the Motion Picture Association of America[3] and 12A (Contains moderate sex references, violence, threat and strong language) by the British Board of Film Classification.[1][citation needed]

Reception

Now You See Me received mixed reviews from critics, who have praised the film's star-studded cast and engaging storyline. The film's most common criticism is that various plot points were insufficiently resolved at the movie's conclusion, leaving some questions unanswered or answered unclearly (although it has been suggested that this was intentional, potentially leaving room for a sequel).[5] Based on 108 reviews from film critics, Rotten Tomatoes rated the film 48%, with the site's consensus saying "Now You See Me's thinly sketched characters and scattered plot rely on directorial sleight of hand to distract audiences—and director Louis Leterrier lacks sufficient cinematic prestidigitation to pull it off in the final act."[6]

However, Audiences have been more positive, with the movie currently holding a 73% rating [7]

Peter Hammond from Movieline writes, "Pure summer movie magic—literally. More fun than Ocean's 11, 12, and 13 combined. You won't believe your eyes—and that's the point."[8]

Audience polls conducted by CinemaScore give the film a rating of an A–.[citation needed]

Box office

Despite the mixed reviews, the film has had a successful box office run, placing #2 behind Fast & Furious 6 getting $29,350,389 on its opening weekend, released in 2925 theaters. As of July 15th, it has earned $113,496,533 at the North American domestic box office and $72,500,000 internationally, totally $185,996,533 worldwide. By 30th June it had grossed double its production budget.[3]The film had stayed at the top 10 North American box office for 6 weeks since it was released.

References

  1. ^ a b "NOW YOU SEE ME (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. 2013-05-28. Retrieved 2013-05-28. 
  2. ^ Kaufman, Amy. "'Fast & Furious 6' to speed past 'After Earth' at the box office". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2013-06-02. ""Now You See Me" cost roughly $75 million" 
  3. ^ a b c d "Now You See Me (2013)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2013-06-30. 
  4. ^ "Now You See Me Trailer, News, Videos, and Reviews". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved 2013-05-02. 
  5. ^ "Review: 'Now You See Me' Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher & Mark Ruffalo | The Playlist". Blogs.indiewire.com. Retrieved 2013-06-02. 
  6. ^ id="cite_note-7">^ "Rotten Tomatoes - Now You See Me". Rotten Tomatoes. 
  7. ^ "Now You See Me - Movie Review". Youtube.com/user/MovielineNetwork. Retrieved 2013-05-30. 

External links

  • Official website
  • Now You See Me at the Internet Movie Database
  • Now You See Me at Box Office Mojo
  • Now You See Me at Rotten Tomatoes
  • Now You See Me at Metacritic