Greetings again from the darkness. Come on … who wouldn't get excited about a movie that mixes magic with the heist genre, and fills the cast with stars old and new? Director Louis Leterrier (The Transporter) is clearly engaged with the material, and maybe his vision of "just one more twist" is what keeps it from reaching the next level.
Magic is inherently a very difficult subject for movies. Why? Because with magic, human nature is such that we are always trying to "catch" the sleight of hand. With movies, we have come to accept the fact that any special effect is possible. We rarely ask "how". That kind of takes away the mystique, eh? Maybe the best magic movie to date is The Prestige, but even that movie was made stronger by the story of its characters … something this latest lacks.
Heist movies, on the other hand, have historically produced some of the most fun and thrilling times on screen. Ocean's Eleven and The Italian Job are just two examples of clever, almost light-hearted heist films that are also thrillers. Everyone loves a clever caper … so long as we aren't on the wrong end. What doesn't work in either genre, and especially when they are blended, is a story that defies logic. We don't mind being tricked. In fact, it's kind of fun getting to the end and realizing you are part of the "gotcha". What we don't like is being cheated.
This premise is terrific. An unknown benefactor secretly assembles The Four Horsemen – a hand-picked (by a hoodie dude) group consisting of Jessie Eisenberg, the smug super-illusionist; Woody Harrelson, the wise-cracking mentalist; tart escape artist (think Houdini with piranha) Isla Fisher; and street-hustler pickpocket (Artful Dodger type) Dave Franco. The group is bank rolled by industrial tycoon Michael Caine, and is soon enough headlining a giant Las Vegas extravaganza. Their first trick is to rob a French bank vault by transporting an audience member, video streaming the job, and showering the audience with the stolen cash. They do this under the watchful eye of magic naysayer Morgan Freeman, a huckster who earns a buck exposing the tricks of magicians.
Soon enough, an FBI agent (Mark Ruffalo) and Interpol agent (Melanie Laurent, so stunning as the theatre owner in Inglourious Basterds) are working together trying to stop the next job, which Morgan Freeman has warned them is really a set-up for a huge finale. The movie has some really fun moments, but with all of Morgan Freeman's warnings that we (and Ruffalo) are always a step behind, we can't help but think ahead … and there is only one super twist that makes all of this click.
In fact, I would argue that there are too many twists here. The basic story was enough and the movie would have benefited from us getting to better know the main characters. Instead, they are merely chess pieces who spout one-liners in order. In particular, the characters of Woody Harrelson and Melanie Laurent could have gone much deeper. But that clashes with what the filmmakers were after … big, fast, wild, glitzy, cute, clever, and twisty. Just don't be tricked into thinking. Turn off your brain and take in the wild, twisty ride … even if it does defy logic, and remember … "it's all part of the show".
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