The movie title, “Now You See Me, Now You Don’t,” might well describe the state of the Hollywood movie industry.
Films seem to be in movie theaters one minute and gone the next.
That’s especially the case for movies when opening weekend box office revenues are lower than expectations.
Films open in movie theaters sometimes at the same time as they are streaming. Or movies open and streaming in three or four weeks if they don’t do well opening weekend. Many times, the movies are streaming only.
Some movies have staying power. One of these is “Now You See Me, Now You Don’t,” which opened at No. 1 in November and was in the Top 10 for five weeks, including No. 5 for the Dec. 12 to Dec. 14 weekend. The film has grossed approximately $61 million domestically and approximately $200 million worldwide.
What is the attraction of “Now You See Me, Now You Don’t”?
Simply put, it’s entertaining. It has a great ensemble cast. It’s a globe-trotting travelogue that includes Antwerp, Belgium, a château in France, and a Formula One race on the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
The movie is third in the series about the Four Horsemen, a group of magician performers. The first film, “Now You See Me,” opened in 2013. The sequel, “Now You See Me 2,” opened in 2016.
The Four Horsemen is a Las Vegas act with magic tricks that rival Harry Houdini, David Copperfield and Penn and Teller.
Of course, the magic of cinema has a lot to do with the magic in the “Now You See Me” movies, which use Computer Generated Imagery, special effects and practical stagecraft to accomplish what appears, and disappears, on the screen.
The plot line again references “the Eye,” a secret group of magicians who steal from the rich and aid the poor. I could do without the Robin Hood aspect of the films. In the latest, the Horsemen are tasked with stealing a large diamond from a South African diamond mine company.
In “Now You See Me, Now You Don’t,” the bad guys are depicted as the diamond industry, and specifically those associated with so-called blood diamonds extracted in war-torn countries, often mined by children, and sold to fund munitions of warlords.
Unfortunately, the serious plot line in “Now You See Me, Now You Don’t” undercuts the film’s general glibness. The Four Horsemen reason that the biggest illusion is none that they perform, but rather the illusion of the belief in the value of mine-sourced diamonds in an era of be lab-grown diamonds.
Not to diminish the significance of political and economic concerns, but such weighty topics add a tone of seriousness that throws the “Now You See Me, Now You Don’t” storyline out of kilter. The film should be a kind of slick “Ocean’s 11” ensemble comedic heist film. The sense should be of one of frivolity, excitement and surprise: the very ingredients of a good magic show.
Magic tricks and illusion are not unlike the cinema. It’s all about the willingful suspension of disbelief, psychological manipulation and misdirection. The diamond merchants being depicted as nefarious pulls the movie-goer back to reality. The fun of being fooled is diminished.
The cast seems to be having fun and they are a fun cast:
Jesse Eisenberg as J. Daniel Atlas, leader of the Four Horsemen;
Woody Harrelson as Merritt McKinney, whose specialty is mentalism and hypnosis;
Dave Franco as Jack Wilder, a sleight of hand artist;
Isla Fisher as Henley Reeves, an expert at something called escapology;
Lizzy Caplan as Lula May, who excels in disguises, and
Morgan Freeman as Thaddeus Bradley, leader of the Eye.
Added to the Horsemen are Justice Smith as Charlie Vanderberg, a magician;
Dominic Sessa as Bosco LeRoy, a impressionist, and
Ariana Greenblatt as June Rouclere, a lock-picker and pickpocket.
And those are the good guys.
The bad guys are led by Rosamund Pike as Veronika Vanderberg, CEO of the South African diamond company.
The dialogue is quippy. The scenes are often spectacular. The editing and action is fast-paced.
Director Ruben Fleischer (director, “Zombieland,” 2009; “Venom,” 2018) works from a screenplay by Michael Lesslie (“The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes,” 2023), Paul Wernick (“Deadpool” 2016; “Zombieland”), Rhett Reese (“Deadpool,” “Zombieland”) and Seth Grahame-Smith (“Beetlejuice: Beetlejuice,” 2024; “The Lego Batman Movie,” 2017); from a story by Eric Warren Singer (Two-time Oscar nominee, adapted screenplay, “Top Gun: Maverick,” 2023; “American Hustle,” original screenplay, 2014) and Michael Lesslie, based on characters created by Boaz Yakin (“Remember The Titans,” 2000) and Edward Ricourt (“Now You See Me”).
Cinematographer is George Richmond (“Rocketman,” 2019; “Free Guy,” 2021).
Production Designer is David Scheunemann (“The Fall Guy,” 2024; “Bullet Train,” 2022).
A fourth installment of “Now You See Me” is in the works.
“Now You See Me, Now You Don’t” is sleight of hand. Moreover, it’s sleight of cinema. Nonetheless it’s a fun divergence at the movies. Grab the popcorn. See it in a movie theater before it disappears.
“Now You See Me, Now You Don’t,” MPA PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned: Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13) for some strong language, violence and suggestive references; Genre: Crime Thriller; Run time: 1 hour, 53 minutes. Distributed by Lionsgate.
Credit Readers Anonymous: “Now You See Me, Now You Don’t” was filmed July to November 2024 in Budapest, Hungary; Antwerp, Belgium, and Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
At The Movies: “Now You See Me, Now You Don’t” was seen in the standard format at AMC Center Valley 16.
Theatrical Movies Domestic Weekend Box Office, Dec. 19-21: “Avatar: Fire and Ash” opened at No. 1 with $89.1 million in 3,800 theaters.
2. “David,” the animation feature film about the Biblical David, opened at No. 2 with $22 million in 3,118 theaters.
3. “The Housemaid,” starring Allentown’s Amanda Seyfried opposite Sydney Sweeney in the psychological thriller, opened at No. 3 with $19 million in 3,015 theaters.
4. “The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants,” the feature film starring the TV cartoon character, opened at No. 4 with $15.6 million in 3,557 theaters.
5. “Zootopia 2” dropped four places, $14.8 million in 3,835 theaters, $283.1 million, four weeks. 6. “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” dropped four places, $7.6 million in 3,012 theaters, $109.3 million, three weeks. 7. “Wicked: For Good” dropped four places, $4.8.million in 2,913 theaters, $321 million, five weeks. 8. “Hamnet” moved up three places, $918,520 million in 617 theaters, $8.8 million, four weeks. 9. “Marty Supreme,” $875,000 in six theaters, opening. 10. “Dhurandha” dropped six places, $670,000 in 383 theaters, $8.5 million, three weeks.
Movie box office information from Box Office Mojo as of Dec. 21 is subject to change.
At The Movies reviews by Paul Willistein: “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” “Hamnet,” “Zootopia 2,” “Wicked: For Good,” “One Battle After Another,” “Bugonia,” “Nuremberg,” “Frankenstein,” “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere,” “Tron: Ares”: https://www.lvpnews.com/
Unreel, Dec. 24:
“Anaconda,” MPA rated PG-13; 1 hour, 39 minutes. Tom Gormican (director, “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent,” 2022; “That Awkward Moment,” 2014) directs Jack Black, Paul Rudd, Steve Zahn, Thandie Newton, Ice Cube and Ione Skye in the Action Adventure Comedy. A group of friends remake a low-budget movie of their favorite movie, “Anaconda” (1997), from their youth when they encounter a real anaconda.
“Song Sung Blue,” MPA rated PG-13; 2 hours, 13 minutes. Craig Brewer (director, ‘Hustle & Flow,” 2005; “Coming 2 America,” 2021; “Dolemite Is My Name,” 2019) directs Hugh Jackman, Kate Hudson, Jim Belushi and Fisher Stevens in the Docudrama Pop Musical. The film is based on Lightning and Thunder, a real-life husband and wife Neil Diamond tribute act from Milwaukee, Wisc. The movie was filmed in Denville, Morris County, and Morristown, N.J., and New York City.
Movie opening dates from Internet Movie Database as of Dec. 21 are subject to change.
Two Popcorn Boxes out of Five Popcorn Boxes
IMAGE: LIONSGATECan you see me now?: Jesse Eisenberg (J. Daniel Atlas), leader of the Four Horsemen, “Now You See Me, Now You Don’t.”