A new 'Now You See Me' isn't magical, but its silliness will keep you distracted

You cognize millennial nostalgia has reached a unsafe highest erstwhile there’s a caller “Now You See Me” successful theaters. The past clip we encountered the merry set of Robin Hood prankster magicians known arsenic the Horsemen, it was the Obama era, erstwhile “Now You See Me 2,” the sequel to the deed 2013 film, opened successful the summertime of 2016. Were we ever truthful young?

Back then, the Horsemen, played by Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco and either Isla Fisher oregon Lizzy Caplan arsenic the token miss magician, utilized the principles of magic for altruistic purposes, redistributing wealthiness and redeeming the satellite from assorted evil tech overlords.

We’re successful adjacent worse signifier now, truthful wherefore not bash magic astir it? It couldn’t wounded and it seems there’s virtually thing other we tin bash to exert immoderate modicum of power implicit billionaires who are exacerbating biology degradation and unsafe technology.

With “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t,” manager Ruben Fleischer takes implicit the franchise reins from Jon M. Chu (now preoccupied with “Wicked”), who himself took implicit from Louis Leterrier (the screenplay is by Seth Grahame-Smith, Michael Lesslie and Rhett Reese). Some 9 years down the line, caller humor is needed, truthful “Now You Don’t” plays similar “Now You See Me: The New Class,” introducing a trio of budding magicians who instrumentality inspiration from the Horsemen.

A reunion amusement astatine a Bushwick warehouse turns retired to beryllium — you guessed it — an illusion, with a radical of young aspiring magicians, June (Ariana Greenblatt), Charlie (Justice Smith) and Bosco (Dominic Sessa), aping the Horsemen’s faces and utilizing clever presumption successful bid to rob from the affluent (corrupt crypto bros) to springiness to the mediocre (their chap broke Gen-Zers). They’re blessed to proceed their scrappy operation, surviving successful a converted loft successful a bagel factory, until an existent Horseman, J. Daniel Atlas (Eisenberg) shows up astatine their spot with an invitation successful the signifier of a tarot card, from an entity known arsenic the Eye.

Turns retired they’ve got bigger food to fry: The whale is Veronika Vanderberg (a hilarious Rosamund Pike), a South African diamond heiress with a prize jewel known arsenic the Heart Diamond and a precise shady household history. The quest to bargain the Heart volition instrumentality the Horsemen from Antwerp to agrarian France and past to Abu Dhabi, wherever they volition usage their magical abilities to get retired of jams, messiness with Veronika and yet bring justness to the South African communities that person been exploited by diamond mining (naturally). This globe-trotting escapade volition besides bring unneurotic each generations of Horsemen, including erstwhile friends and foes, reminding america that adjacent successful examination to large shiny diamonds, the astir important earthy assets successful the satellite is friendship.

The comic happening astir the “Now You See Me” movies, which are delightfully silly, frothy and yet rather anserine (in the champion way), is that they’re not truly astir magic. They’re astir puzzles and rubber masks and whipping playing cards done the aerial and flight rooms. But it’s unclear if thing that they bash is really magic. Sure, determination are fantastical illusions (some intelligibly CGI-enhanced) and Henley (Fisher) is simply a maestro of escapology, but fractional the time, the Horsemen are simply mounting up elaborate ruses and past their “show” consists of explaining however they tricked 1 person, which leads to that person’s arrest. Is that magic? It’s misdirection and lying and showmanship connected an internationally expansive scale, but it’s much “Mission: Impossible” than David Copperfield. It’s similar if Ethan Hunt got connected signifier and explained everything helium did to an adoring assemblage earlier giving them each a monetary gift, Oprah-style.

If the Horsemen accidental it’s magic, fine. Even though the publication is laden with expository dialog — the magnitude of times they basal successful a ellipse and babble lore astatine each different is unconscionable — there’s a fleetness to the pacing and the caller additions are charming, peculiarly insouciant scamp Sessa, whose Bosco matches vigor with Eisenberg’s smartest-guy-in-the-room arrogance.

Fleischer’s signature benignant is slick but chintzy, which works here. (There’s thing due for the benignant of a movie astir magicians being being shiny but cheap.) The archetypal enactment series is incomprehensible, but they get amended throughout. Most importantly, Fleischer knows there’s a winking constituent erstwhile it comes to performing oregon enjoying magic. It’s campy, it’s cheesy, it’s mode much amusive than you expect it to be, but there’s a knowingness to the full endeavor. “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t” is the benignant of lightweight, harmless and ephemeral amusement that allows america to beryllium flight artists from world for a minute, truthful spell up and indulge.

Katie Walsh is simply a Tribune News Service movie critic.