Now You See Me: Now You Don't

"Now You See Me 3" is by far the worst entry in the franchise.

While the second movie was already inferior to the first, at least it expanded the world and took the story in a new direction. With nine years to develop a sequel, you'd expect something fresh, ambitious, and worthy of the franchise. Instead, the filmmakers went for the laziest option possible: a blatant rehash of the first two films-especially the second-recycling the same story beats, structure, and even the same type of plot twist, just with different characters.

The movie is full of overused tropes executed in the most uninteresting way. The dialogue is poor, character interactions even poorer, and the new characters add nothing except clutter, stealing screen time from the main cast-who end up feeling like guests in their own franchise. Even the visuals feel tired and uninspired, which is especially disappointing given the potential of such a unique premise and the always-wonderful cast. With these characters and this setup, the film could have delivered inventive storytelling and striking set pieces-but it doesn't.

A fourth movie is teased, and if it ever happens, I sincerely hope they hire a writer and director interested in making the sequel this franchise actually deserves.

Now You See Me 3 tries to recapture the spark that made the first film so enjoyable, but it ends up feeling like a tired illusion we've all seen too many times. The cast remains talented, yet even strong performances can't save a script that relies on increasingly absurd stunts and implausible tricks. The magic - once clever and grounded in spectacle - now feels hollow, more CGI than sleight of hand.

What's most frustrating is how detached everything feels. The film pushes surrealism to the point of disbelief, robbing it of the charm and intrigue that once defined the franchise. The surprise character reveal at the end feels cheap and unnecessary, a nostalgic gimmick that might have worked two decades ago but now only exposes budgetary shortcuts.

The plot twist, while mildly interesting, collapses under its own lack of logic - it's hard to invest when the story keeps bending reality for convenience. In the end, Now You See Me 3 is forgettable entertainment: flashy but empty, ambitious but weightless, and a disappointing end to a once-promising saga.

This has been years in the making and it's finally come out! Was it worth it? I suppose it was fun with the gang back together but it's more of the same you've seen before but less complex which is both a good and bad thing as the tricks are more realistic but it loses that intrigue and mysticism. Aside from that it springs a new generation of magicians along with the classic gang and watching them work side by side up until the big reveal is engaging. They clearly have fun with getting them all back together and the interactions after years make this worth a watch for sure. It leaves room for more at the end but they could stop right there if they wanted to.

The cast is the best thing with them all reunited. I love Jesse Eisenberg so I enjoy seeing him again. Newcomers like Justice Smith, Dominic Sessa and Ariana Greenblatt are all great charismatic new characters too. Rosamund Pike as the villain is cool just cause it's her anyway.

They have the song abracadabra in this by Lady Gaga so that's another cool thing!

Great to see them back on screen again regardless of it being more of the same stuff with less complexity.

Now You See Me: Now You Don't is a fun, flashy, but ultimately forgettable. The first film was a tight, clever heist thriller, as was the second, almost; but this sequel feels overstuffed and rushed.

The new magicians lack depth... their skills and personalities aren't well-established, so it's hard to care. The original Horsemen (all five now) are still charismatic, but their roles feel sidelined in favor of underdeveloped newcomers.

The final heist is visually impressive but lacks the satisfying payoff of the first two films. The twists feel forced, and the revenge-driven plot drags down the fun.

That said, it's not a bad movie - just a missed opportunity. If you loved the first two, you'll find enough spectacle to enjoy, but don't expect the same magic.

6/10: A decent weekend watch, but nothing more.

How did a big budget, solid actor, much anticipated film yield such poor writing, directing and editing? Magic, apparently.

The trick here is to fool audiences into paying for this nonsense. Want to spend 2 hours of your life watching someone else ooh and aah in in a magic show or play in an escape room filmed on screen?. Only thing worse than the script may be Rosamund Pike's accent. Oy.