Review - Now You See Me 2 (2016)

         Hey guys, Chuck here, and just threw years after the success of Now You See Me, Summit Entertainment returned for a sequel. Directed by G.I. Joe: Retaliation director Jon M. Chu, Now You See Me 2 sees the returns of cast members Mark Ruffalo, Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Michael Caine, and Morgan Freeman, who are joined by newcomers Lizzy Caplan, Daniel Radcliffe, Jay Chou, Sanaa Lathan, Henry Lloyd-Hughes, and Tsai Chin. 

        The movie opens with a flashback to the night of Lionel Shrike's accident, and we see him ensuring his son, Dylan, that things will be okay. All the while, Thaddeus Bradley is on television reporting on Lionel's attempt to escape from a safe dropped into the East River. And, of course, we all know the rest. Cut to eighteenth months after the events of the first movie, and the Horsemen are growing restless, with J. Daniel Atlas going straight to who he believes is the Eye, only to be told to maintain patience, as Dylan has a plan. Now, what's unfortunate is that this waiting around led Henley Reeves to grow restless and seek to leave the Eye, which they allowed. Now, the real reason was due to the fact that actress Isla Fisher was unavailable to reprise the role due to her pregnancy at the time. 

       However, it's around this time we meet the newest member of the Horsemen, Lula May, who is an illusionist and practitioner of geek magic, which we see when a lifelike dummy of her is decapitated on Daniel's couch. Now, as much as I liked Isla Fisher as Henley in the first movie, I effing LOVED Lizzy Caplan as Lula in this movie. She is just hilarious, and she definitely fits in with the rest of the Horsemen. Meanwhile, we learn that Jack and Merritt have been teaching each other stuff, with Jack learning the arts of hypnotism and mentalism from Merritt, all while teaching Merritt about sleight of hand in return. 

       But, it's here where Dylan, who has led the FBI on multiple false leads, shows up with the plan: hijack the upcoming Octa reveal event, and out its CEO Owen Case for planning to use a new chip to steal customers' information to sell on the black market. The plan goes well, up until the Horsemen are upstaged by an unknown entity, who reveals that Jack is still alive, and Dylan has been working with the Horsemen since the beginning. Daniel, Merritt, Jack, and Lula escape to the roof, but end up down the wrong chute, waking up in Macau. 

      It's here where we meet Merritt's douchebag twin brother Chase, who takes them to his associate Walter Mabry, who was Case's former business partner who was presumed dead. And, holy crap was Daniel Radcliffe just a joy in this role. I mean, this is the same dude that played the title role of the Harry Potter franchise for years, and he is absolutely fantastic in this movie. Anyway, Walter gives the Horsemen a task, as a means to repay him for his lost money when they ripped off Tressler in the first movie. The task? Retrieve a chip from the Macau Science Center and return it to Walter, who developed the chip. And, by the way, the chip can hack into any computer system in the world. 

       Meanwhile, Dylan is desperately seeking the whereabouts of the Horsemen, and is forced to turn to the still incarcerated Thaddeus Bradley, who in flight to Macau reveals that he knows Dylan is the son of Lionel Shrike. After getting some supplies from a local Magic Shop, run by Bu Bu and her grandson Li, the Horsemen utilize both cardistry and sleight of hand to get the chip and sneak it past its supervisor, Allen Scott-Frank. However, Walter reveals that HE was the one who reached out to Daniel, who believes he was talking to The Eye, AND is the illegitimate son of Tressler, who wants revenge for getting ripped off by the Horsemen. Oh, and they put Dylan in a safe similar to the one his father died in years before. Dylan, however, is able to escape and rejoins the Horsemen, who regroup at the Magic Shop, where they learn that both Li and Bu Bu are high ranking members of The Eye, and help them set up something massive. 

        The Horsemen then post a video online, revealing a plan to put on a show in London on New Year's Eve. And, the show is done in three spots, with Jack doing a life-size version of Three-Card Monte, Lula doing a trick with doves, and Daniel manipulating the rain using a rain machine and strobe lights. The three of them, along with Merritt and Dylan, all get nabbed and taken to a plane with Tressler, Walter, and Chase on board. After verifying the chip that the Horsemen have is real, Chase suggests throwing them out of the plane. However, it turns out that the plane is a fake, floating on a barge in the middle of the Thames, and the barge is unveiled to the public, and Walter, Tressler, and Chase's plan is revealed to the world, and the three men are arrested. Dylan is, luckily, given a head start, and he and the Horsemen get away. 

       The next day, Dylan and the Horsemen head to Greenwich Observatory, which is where The Eye is based, and they reunite with Li and Bu Bu, and are amazed to learn that Allen Scott-Frank is part of The Eye as well. But, much to Dylan's shock, Thaddeus Bradley is leader of The Eye, and Thaddeus tells Dylan the full truth. As it turns out, Thaddeus and Lionel were partners in magic, posing as rivals to make the public believe that Thaddeus was goading Lionel into the safe stunt in the East River. But, neither of them counted on it going the way it did. As for why Thaddeus never told Dylan during the first movie was a combination of Thaddeus' guilt and Dylan's thirst for vengeance, making Thaddeus believe Dylan wasn't ready, but changed his mind when Dylan set aside his vengeance for the sake of finding the Horsemen. So, now, Thaddeus is looking to retire, and makes Dylan his successor as leader of The Eye. And, the movie ends with Dylan and the Horsemen seeing more of The Eye than they ever imagined. 

         This movie is an example of expanding on a concept and doing it well. I absolutely loved how we got to see the actual members of The Eye in the movie, and how they guided the Horsemen on their path in this movie. I also liked how the movie really expands on the connection between Dylan and Thaddeus, and how Dylan also is referred to by his father's last name of Shrike, ultimately bringing his story full circle. And, as mentioned before, I loved Lizzy Captain as Lula in this movie, as well as Daniel Radcliffe as Walter. 

      However, one element that got on my nerves was Woody Harrelson as Chase, twin brother of Merritt. Now, as much as I love Woody Harrelson in this series as Merritt, I think he went way too annoying as Chase, and the fake teeth and ridiculous hair was just that - ridiculous. 

       But, as far as the returning players, they were all fantastic. Woody Harrelson as Merritt, Jesse Eisenberg as Daniel, Mark Ruffalo as Dylan, Dave Franco as Jack, Michael Caine as Tressler, and Morgan Freeman as Thaddeus were all fantastic once again. The other newcomers like Sanaa Lathan, Jay Chou, Henry Lloyd-Hughes, and Tsai Chin were also enjoyable as the supporting cast, with Sanaa Lathan playing Dylan's FBI boss, which was really neat. 

        I also loved how we went across the globe with this movie, seeing places like Macau and London. Seeing parts of the world outside of the United States, not including the scenes in Paris during the first movie, really goes far in expanding the world of the Now You See Me series in new directions with multiple parts of the world that have their own culture and magic to them. 

        Overall, director Jon M. Chu made an excellent sequel to Now You See Me, and I highly recommend it. I'm giving Now You See Me 2 a rating of 5/5. Well guys, this is Chuck signing off, and I'll be back in a couple of days with two new reviews: Saw X and Power Rangers Cosmic Fury.