From the opening credits, the Now You See Me: Now You Don’t film wastes no time immersing the viewer in tricks, challenging what the audience views as truth or deception, keeping the franchise’s signature charm alive in this third installment.
SPOILERS AHEAD!
HOW NOW YOU SEE ME: NOW YOU DONT HOOKED ME
Judging from the very first scene, I thought this sequel was going to flop. The opening illusion felt like a cheap CGI magic show, with off-brand effects, awkward pacing, and a lack of the clever swagger that defined the Horsemen in the first two films.
But then, I got tricked.
The performers weren’t the Horsemen at all, but instead, deepfake projections, created by a trio of Gen-Z illusionists using AI, holograms, and livestream manipulation. That’s when I realized I’d already fallen for the first deception. The trick deliberately misdirected the audience, leading us to believe the Horsemen were performing an out-of-character show. AKA, we got tricked before the real story even began, making it arguably the best opening trick of the entire franchise.
THE GEN Z CHARACTERS ACTUALLY FELT REAL
What surprised me most was that the Gen-Z characters were some of the most realistic portrayals of our generation that I’ve seen. As soon as TikTok is mentioned or “cool kid internet lingo” is overused in a movie, I check out immediately. In this movie, the Gen Z characters, June, Bosco and Charlie, spoke like actual people rather than the usual algorithm-caricature portrayal of Gen Z. For that, I applaud the writers.
Even better, the only jokes about Gen Z came from a millennial character, J. Daniel Atlas, which, I admit, were actually funny. Instead of trying too hard, his comments sounded exactly like things someone his age would realistically say to our generation. The comments didn’t mock either millennials or Gen Z; it gently acknowledged the gap between them for the purpose of highlighting mistrust between the characters, without obsessing over it. That balance made the generational humor work and, at the end of the film, made the family dynamic between young and OG Horsemen lovely.
THE WEAK SPOTS (AND WHAT SAVED THEM)
Regardless of the impressive intro and characters, there were pacing issues. A few dialogue-heavy scenes dragged on, repeating information we had already figured out. The film overexplains its ideas and could’ve cut out 15-20 minutes of unnecessary dialogue.
For a movie about deception, I wished it trusted the audience a little more.
When the action scenes arrived, they redeemed the slow parts. Scenes like the mirror-maze sequence, the diamond vault misdirect, and, of course, the ultimate plot twist at the end were each layered, clever, and visually grounded in physical illusion rather than just CGI. The thought put into each set piece was strong enough to redeem the slower stretches. I could feel intention behind every prop and camera angle, as if we were given time to absorb the setting, as if each set piece would be used later. And usually, wink wink, it was.
THE REAL MAGIC OF THE NOW YOU SEE ME FRANCHISE
What makes the Now You See Me movies so unique is that they break the fourth wall without ever actually breaking it. They reveal tricks, going back in time to “ruin” the magic, which most movies try to cover up with CGI and editing. Instead of ruining the mystery, it reminds us how easy it is to fool the human eye. Though we’re all in a theatre with the movie on a screen, it feels like we’re immersed in the magic; the movie production becomes a magic trick itself—very meta.
Though I haven’t tested whether every trick is possible in real life, this movie succeeds at the tough challenge of making tricks exciting and mind-boggling while keeping them grounded enough to be realistically explained to an audience.
I rate Now You See Me: Now You Don’t 4 disappearing rabbits out of 5, and I can’t wait to watch it again, this time with sharper eyes.