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Now You See Me: Now You Don't Review: Silly Spectacle That's Still Fun

Now You See Me: Now You Don't is a lot like the magic that we see in the film. It's flashy, entertaining, but it's all spectacle without anything else to say.

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Article Summary

  • Now You See Me: Now You Don’t delivers flashy magic tricks and spectacle over substance, just like its predecessors.
  • The film blends old faces with a new generation of illusionists, but struggles to integrate the fresh characters.
  • Storylines grow more unbelievable, with increasingly over-the-top twists and a less engaging central heist.
  • Despite its flaws, the movie remains entertaining popcorn fare for fans of style, magic, and dumb fun.

Now You See Me: Now You Don't is just as breathlessly stupid, empty, yet somehow so entertaining and watchable as the first two as this series continues to embrace spectacle over substance.

Director: Ruben Fleischer
Summary: The Four Horsemen return along with a new generation of illusionists performing mind-melding twists, turns, surprises, and magic unlike anything ever captured on film.

The promotional poster for 'Now You See Me: Now You Don't' features a group of eight characters posed on abstract, upward-sloping steps with a surreal, blue background, suggesting a theme of illusion and magic.
© 2025 Lionsgate

The first two Now You See Me movies are incredibly stupid, going for all style and spectacle over any sense of substance, and this reviewer absolutely adores them. In many ways, these movies are like the magic shows that they are incorporating into crime; you're either into magic and can get on its level, or you can't, and that is completely fine. It's a form of performance art, and it's all subjective, and nothing about these movies is going to convince you if you're a magic hater. What these movies managed to do was take a cast of rather impressive talent and have them all bounce off of each other with a straight face. The first two films weren't critical or commercial darlings, but they both did well enough, and Now You See Me: Now You Don't is here just as stupid, with plenty of spectacle and absolutely zero substance, that is going to be something an audience member is either going to be into or not.

Normally, when you have to wait a considerable amount of time between films, people expect that most of the original cast will not return, so they are taking this opportunity to do a soft reboot with a new cast. Now You See Me: Now You Don't is splitting the difference by bringing back most of the main cast from the first two films, while also bringing on three new cast members as well. However, while the film does an admirable job of trying to get us invested in these new characters, their place within the group is awkward. We have seen the dynamics between this cast play out in two films and it was one of the reasons why they worked in the first place. Whenever the narrative deviates to focus on the new trio, you get the sense that they are trying to set these three up to be our primary magicians, with our original quad getting phased out. And while it is great to see young talent like Justice Smith, Ariana Greenblatt, and especially Dominic Sessa following his breakout performance in The Holdovers, they feel tacked on even as the narrative desperately tries to convince you that they are needed and important.

In many ways, these movies mirror The Fast Saga in the sense that people who do not seem qualified to be doing something are now doing it. For The Fast Saga, it's international incidents being managed by a team of street racers. For the Now You See Me movies, it's karmic justice, usually against a rich person who is up to no good. However, unlike the Fast Saga, which took at least five movies before they completely jumped the shark, these movies started off jumping the shark and haven't looked back since. As they have progressed, they have only gotten more and more ridiculous. It means that the story and the writing are barely holding things together, and the film ends with a reveal that feels like it was supposed to be a big crowd-pleaser while revealing just how clever they are, but it can't stick the landing. The ultimate goal with this heist, who is motivated to do what and why, is the least interesting part of the entire film.

Now You See Me: Now You Don't is a lot like the magic that we see in the film. It's flashy, entertaining, but it's all spectacle without anything else to say. The talented returning and new cast members appear to be self-aware about what movie they are in and are leaning into it so hard they are practically kissing the floor. There is nothing wrong with something that is shiny, flashy, quick, and nothing else. It's the movie you put on while cleaning or doing something else. It's water vapor, and the entire concept, focusing on magic, means it's always been a series that varies wildly depending on the audience member. Dumb fun is still fun.

Now You See Me: Now You Don't
A promotional collage for the film 'Now You See Me: Now You Don't,' featuring characters engaged in magic and illusion. The image showcases a mix of scenes with the cast in various dramatic settings, emphasizing mystery and intrigue.
Review by Kaitlyn Booth
7/10
Now You See Me: Now You Don't is just as breathlessly stupid, empty, yet somehow so entertaining and watchable as the first two as this series continues to embrace spectacle over substance.

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Kaitlyn BoothAbout Kaitlyn Booth

Kaitlyn is the Editor-in-Chief at Bleeding Cool. Film critic and pop culture writer since 2013. Ace. Leftist. Nerd. Feminist. Writer. Replicant Translator. Cinephillic Virtue Signaler. She/Her. UFCA/GALECA Member. 🍅 Approved. Follow her Threads, Instagram, and Twitter @katiesmovies.
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