Now You See Me 2

The original 2013 Now You See Me was a bad movie. It was deceptive in its badness, because it offered a bunch of slick surface pleasures, building up to one of those finales where you can imagine everyone involved in making the movie was smirking and thinking, “Betcha didn’t see that coming.” It’s dispiriting to see something stupid somehow convince a lot of people it’s smart, simply because of how loudly and brashly it keeps insisting on it, despite lacking any substance for the claim. It was the Donald Trump of movies.

For this reason, the prospect of Now You See Me 2 was not a cause for rejoicing. Yet enough of the things that were wrong in the original get fixed that it’s actually not a chore to watch.

The follow-up picks up around 18 months after the events of the first film, with Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) still working for the FBI, keeping the authorities off the trail of his still-in-hiding fugitive magician cohorts known as The Horsemen. With Isla Fisher’s Henley having retired from the group, a newcomer named Lula (Lizzy Caplan) has been recruited to join Daniel (Jesse Eisenberg), Merritt (Woody Harrelson) and Jack (Dave Franco) in a new mission to take down a tech company whose new cell phone might be able to hijack users’ personal data. But the mission might be a trap, one that’s built on someone getting even with the Horsemen for Rhodes’ successful plot to avenge his dead father.

On its most basic structural level, NYSM2 improves upon the original simply by providing a story that’s actually about the magicians and allows them to remain center stage. It’s also now a magical heist caper, rather than a procedural about investigating a magical heist. The central set piece finds the four magicians attempting to smuggle a powerful encryption-cracking cell phone data card out of a secure facility, requiring a ton of nifty sleight-of-hand and physics-defying card-throwing to thwart the guards’ pat-downs. It’s clearly preposterous, but it’s also a blast, as director John M. Chu (G.I. Joe: Retaliation) lets us in on every feint and dodge. Giving our heroes a clear goal against a single clear antagonist – a tech billionaire (Daniel Radcliffe) who has faked his own death – allows for focus the original lacked.

Unfortunately, it all moves along so quickly and with too many characters. But hey, sometimes it’s OK to be satisfied by small blessings, like not emerging from the theater actively pissed off. That was one trick I didn’t expect this sequel to pull off.

Now You See Me 2 • (2 1/2) • Directed by John M. Chu • Starring Mark Ruffalo, Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson • Rated PG-13 • Tk min. • Century Cinemas Del Monte. Century Marina, Maya Cinemas, Northridge Cinemas