Now You See Me

First Hit:  I like magic and therefore I was interested and entertained during this film.

However from a plot point of view it was confusing and didn’t necessarily hold together. In the opening scenes we see four magicians performing their particular types of magic. J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg) doing street magic that is grand in its own right.

Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson) does mindreading and hypnosis in small venues to make a living after his bother stole all his money. Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher) use to be Atlas’ assistant but does her own dramatic magic in small showrooms. Lastly there is Jack Wilder (Dave Franco) who is mostly a con-artist with deft hands and the ability to be clever.

They are corralled together by an unknown guide and a year later is performing major stage magic in front of thousands of people in Las Vegas. They identify Author Tressler (Michael Caine) as their financial benefactor to the audience.

Also the audience is introduced  to Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman) in this “First Act” show as someone who makes a living debunking Magic by sharing magician's tricks on his website. In the first act the 4 Horsemen, as they’re called, are to have someone from the audience come up to the stage and rob a bank in France and give the proceeds to the audience.

This is the films setup because the magicians are brought into the FBI for questioning and here they meet Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) who is heading the US investigation of the robbery while his Interpol counterpart is Alma Dray (Melanie Laurant). As each of the three 4 Horsemen acts unfold, the story gets more convoluted. This is the problem with this film, it just doesn’t provide enough sustenance and bread crumbs to make it work.

Eisenberg is intense as usual and although he’s good for the part, he’s become more of a one trick pony. Harrelson, as he’s done in the last few years, takes each of his characters and makes them interesting and compelling. Fisher is good enough but I would have seen more grit (street smarts) from her to beef up her part. Franco is OK as the most minor of the four characters but reappears at the end as a critical component. Caine is good as the hard, steely eyed, guy who gets taken for a ride. Freeman is strong as the guy who gets his in the end. Ruffalo is OK, however didn’t seem very believable as a FBI investigator. Laurant is OK but I’m not quite sure this character was needed. Ed Solomon and Boaz Yakin wrote the convoluted story with big ideas. Louis Leterrier directed the film, and it seems, with a certain respect for magic.

Overall: I found the film entertaining and that could be that is because I like the illusion of magic.

Safe

First Hit:  An action packed violent film, which was fairly well executed.

The premise of this film was that a young girl named Mei (played by Catherine Chan) is without a true family, is intensely intelligent and can remember any assortment of numbers numbers.

She is being used by a Han Jiao (played by James Hong) to memorize his businesses in NYC’s Chinatown. In a separate story Luke Wright (played by Jason Statham) is an out of place cage fighter who wins and loses based on what he is told to do. He is a lost man, but intense.

You know he has a intense background because he displays intelligence along with wise grit. However, he’s on the edge and he’s about to kill himself because some rough Russians killed his wife – his life. The Russians and Chinese are tempting the police for protection of their illegal gambling, drug and money laundering operations. Sound convoluted?

It is but the object of this film is to throw together two unlikely people, the little girl and Wright, as a way to save themselves and each other. They do this through some action packed scenes, some with fists, some with guns, all with guile.

Chan is focused and very believable as the young girl with a special talent combined with bravery. Statham is perfect as the intelligent rough focused caring protector. Hong was his usual outstanding character. He rarely gives an under-the-radar performance. Boaz Yakin wrote the convoluted screenplay which actually works in the end. Yakin provided strong direction, which meant he made his convoluted script work.

Overall: This films had a lot of violence, portrayed people in a generic way (Chinese and Russian), which may have deterred from the film but overall it was entertaining.