‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t’ review: Jesse Eisenberg heads tricky third instalment of heist franchise

Dir: Ruben Fleischer. US. 2025. 112mins

The Now You See Me pictures rely on a specific sleight of hand, hoping that a combination of likeable stars and a breezy energy will be sufficient misdirection to keep audiences from noticing how derivative these films can be. This third instalment reunites the fabled Four Horsemen magicians for their most daring mission yet, and Jesse Eisenberg remains delightful as the egotistical but brilliant leader of these enterprising magicians while incoming director Ruben Fleischer keeps the action coming at a steady clip. But nearly 10 years after the last sequel, Now You Don’t fails to make the franchise’s limitations disappear.

The story’s relentless razzle-dazzle eventually feels laboured

The 2013 original (directed by Louis Leterrier) grossed $352 million worldwide, while John M Chu’s 2016 follow-up collected $335 million, and Now You Don’t features Eisenberg alongside series regulars Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher and Morgan Freeman. Recruiting a collection of rising stars to join the Horsemen, and tapping Rosamund Pike to play the villain, the film should prove a sturdy box-office performer when it rolls out worldwide from November 12, with a fourth chapter reportedly already in the works.

A decade has passed since the world last heard from the Four Horsemen — magician Atlas (Eisenberg), mentalist Merritt (Harrelson), card-thrower Jack (Franco) and escape artist Henley (Fisher) — who are Robin Hood-style thieves, robbing from those who made their fortunes unethically. The group has disbanded after internal strife, but they are brought back together by a message from The Eye, a secret organization that summons them to stop Veronika (Pike), who uses her diamond empire to launder the money of the world’s worst criminals. But the Horsemen will be forced to work with a younger team of illusionists to steal Veronika’s coveted Heart Diamond.

As with many ageing franchises, Now You Don’t seeks to extend the series by bringing on new cast members that might one day be able to take the reins. Those fresh faces — Justice Smith, Dominic Sessa and Ariana Greenblatt — bring some spark to the proceedings. But the screenplay, credited to four writers, struggles to find enough for the original Horsemen and these additional characters — not to mention Freeman’s wise elder Thaddeus — to do. Unfortunately, the filmmakers’ solution is to assign the new recruits similar personalities to members of the Four Horsemen, which creates predictable friction then bonding between these different generations of magicians.

Director Fleischer (Uncharted, Venom) is also a newcomer to the franchise, although Now You Don’t’s mix of comedy and action is well-suited to the director of the Zombieland films, which also starred Eisenberg and Harrelson. This sequel also shares with its predecessors a cocky confidence in its brazen heists and elaborate explanations. Zipping to South Africa, Belgium, France and the United Arab Emirates, Now You Don’t parades its suave, well-dressed characters around the globe as they show off their skill with impressions, disguises and other deceptions — often while delivering a so-so one-liner.

Watching the fetching good guys consistently outsmart their hiss-worthy nemesis can be fleetingly satisfying — as can the film’s superficial jetsetting pizzazz. And Fleischer certainly makes no apologies for Now You Don’t’s cheeky plundering from similar pictures, with obvious references to Ocean’s Eleven, Inception and Mission: Impossible. Tellingly, however, when Now You Don’t tries to be poignant while pondering the passage of time and the loss of loved ones, the franchise’s glib construction cannot withstand the tonal shift. And the story’s relentless razzle-dazzle eventually feels laboured, sapping the fizzy fun.

Eisenberg has frequently played arrogant, aloof individuals but, while Atlas is not an especially nuanced creation, the Oscar-nominated actor seems to savour portraying someone so shamelessly smug, imbuing the morally self-righteous character with an unlikely charm. Sadly, many of his castmates have less success with their underwritten roles. A veteran star such as Harrelson is mostly drawing from his well-established persona to play the rascally Merritt, and Franco’s charisma only gets him so far. (The aspiring new Horsemen are even more stranded.)

As for Pike, she does her best to tap into the film’s silly spirit, portraying the chilly Veronika with a faintly ludicrous South African accent. Of all the magic on display in Now You Don’t, that might be the picture’s most amusing trick.