The Now You See Me franchise has always thrived on spectacle over logic, and the latest instalment, arriving almost a full decade after the second film, continues that tradition with a gleefully ludicrous commitment. Directed by Ruben Fleischer and penned by writers Eric Warren Singer, Seth Grahame-Smith, and Michael Lesslie, the latest instalment sees the creative team leaning fully into the absurdity, understanding that the series’ DNA is pure, over-the-top fun.
The premise remains absolutely absurd: a group of illusionist-thieves pulling off globally coordinated heists using sleight of hand, stagecraft, and a level of luck that can only exist in films that refuse to touch reality. And yet, the film’s heightened tone is precisely why its silliness is forgiven.
This time around, the Horsemen are pulled into a new mystery when J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson), Jack Wilder (Dave Franco), and Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher) are recruited by a secretive organisation to steal a priceless diamond from ruthless dealer Veronika Vanderberg (Rosamund Pike, delivering a hilariously over-the-top turn).
To pull it off, the Horsemen must collaborate with a younger wave of talent: Justice Smith plays Leo, a technically gifted but socially awkward illusionist; Dominic Sessa is Finn, a cocky stage magician whose bravado barely hides his insecurity; and Ariana Greenblatt portrays Rina, a quick-thinking pickpocket with natural showmanship that rivals Atlas’s own theatrical flair. Meanwhile, Morgan Freeman returns briefly as Thaddeus Bradley, now positioned almost as a mythic storyteller of the Horsemen’s evolving legacy.
What becomes immediately clear is that the new cast brings a refreshing energy. Smith, known for emotionally grounded turns in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves and The Get Down, delivers something more playful here, leaning into the heightened absurdity. Sessa, coming off his breakout role in The Holdovers, proves just as sharp in comedic rhythm as he is in dramatic control. Greenblatt is magnetic and confidently steals the film’s best moments.
With high-speed chases, barely believable disguises and some pretty awful dad jokes, this is pretty much more of the same of what we saw from the franchise before, and no amount of good acting could ever make it any less ridiculous, but let’s not begrudge anyone the right to be entertained by a little bit of unapologetic nonsense.
If anything, the film feels like a transitional entry—less a continuation than a repositioning. The older Horsemen appear more as legacy figures than leads here, and the final scenes strongly imply that the studio is testing the waters for a soft reboot centred around this younger ensemble. One only hopes that the writers are able to give the young cast something more interesting to work with next time.
