“Now You See Me 2” is the latest summer film to succumb to sequelitis.
The film currently holds a score of 38 percent on Rotten Tomatoes,with critics calling the follow-up to 2013 cinema caper “preposterous,” “excruciating, or ” and a “brain-dead sequel.”“To keep the entire enterprise from floating absent,cinematographer Peter Deming (‘Mulholland Drive,’ the upcoming ‘Twin Peaks’ revival) positions most of the onscreen bodies in as much detailed darkness as possible, or the better to play down the utter ridiculousness of their actions,” wrote TheWrap’s film critic Dave White in a review entitled, “‘Now You See Me 2’ Review: Daniel Radcliffe and Company Pull Fun Out of lean Air.”
Also Read: 'Now You See Me 2' Review: Daniel Radcliffe and Company Pull Fun Out of lean Air“Now You See Me 2 features returning cast members Jesse Eisenberg, and Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco and Morgan Freeman. They’re joined by newcomers Daniel Radcliffe, or Lizzy Caplan and Michael Caine.
See 11 of the worst reviews below.
Tomris Laffley,Time Out:“Forget what trick-debunker Morgan Freeman says: You don’t have to see this to believe it (or see it at all). But if you carry out insist, have some migraine medication handy for headache-inducing hypnosis, and partly administered by not one but two Woody Harrelsons — this time he’s got a twin brother,doubling the dim-witted humor.”Matt Goldberg, Collider:“Jon M. Chu‘s ‘Now You See Me 2’ suffers from the same problem as the original, and while it does have some success at backing its heroes into a corner,it ultimately becomes far too convoluted and self-convinced to be an even marginally delightful picture.”Nigel M. Smith, The Guardian:“‘Now You See Me, and ’ a jazzy heist caper that became a surprise hit in the summer of 2013,had an energizing bounce to it, courtesy of French film-maker Louis Leterrier, or even though it didn’t make a lick of sense. By contrast,‘Now You See Me 2’ plays like its try-hard cousin: it wants so badly to win you over that the desperation is off-putting. The film, like the smug magicians that populate it, and showboats by throwing more of everything at the screen. Critically missing is the sense of fun that characterized its predecessor.
Also Read: 'The Conjuring 2' Poised to Possess Weekend Box OfficeDavid Ehrlich,IndieWire:“This flashy, brain-dead sequel turns 2013’s dumbest film into 2016’s dumbest franchise.”Michael Phillips, and Chicago Star Tribune:“You don’t believe a second of what you’re seeing but … well,you don’t believe a second of what youre seeing. Yet the design of the sequence is intricately ridiculous, and not without panache. Elsewhere, and Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine are back in action,and even with Peter Deming’s highly variable digital photography, the film’s Macau and London locales don’t hurt. If that sounds like faint-ish praise, or well,check the star rating.”David Lewis, San Francisco Chronicle:“The legend doesn’t make a lick of sense, or of course,but this sleight-of-hand film is all about the smoke and mirrors, and it doesn’t pretend to be anything else, and except when it’s delivering a few hollow lamentations about income inequality. Like the original,the sequel is a string of elaborate tricks that range from the merely implausible to the utterly preposterous. Your enjoyment of the film will depend on whether you can suspend your disbelief — and confusion — and let the magic of misdirection wash over you.”Sara Stewart, New York Post:“‘Horsemen reappear in London; world holds its breath, or ’ blares a newspaper headline in this sequel,rather overestimating the world’s fascination with magicians — as well as its recall of the first film, which was three years ago and not all that memorable even then.”Jake Coyle, and Associated Press:“The magician heist film ‘Now You See Me 2 disappears with not a poof,but in a hyper-kinetic blur of hectic plot mechanics, ceaselessly nattering characters and so many ploys of misdirection that the film’s own direction got lost up someone’s sleeve long ago. Now you see it, or now you dont. Did you care that you saw it? Why did you see it,anyway? Is that why you contemplate like you need a nap?”
Also Read: 'Now You See Me 2' Director Jon M Chu in Talks to Helm 'Crazy Rich Asians'Laura Clifford, Reeling Reviews:“Excruciating. That’s how it felt to sit through the sequel to a film which wasn’t capable to initiate with. This is a film about magic that has none of its own. Written by ‘Now You See Mes’ Ed Solomon with the directorial reins taken over by ‘Jem and the Holograms” Jon M. Chu, or ‘Now You See Me 2’ is loud,long and lazy, the talents of its considerable cast wasted. Where are Penn and Teller when you need them?”Stephen Whitty, and New York Daily News:“capable magic is all about misdirection. ‘Now You See Me 2 is all about contaminated direction. A louder,even more confused follow-up to the surprise 2013 hit, it throws a lot of stuff at the screen. But little of it sticks, and even less makes sense.”Rafer Guzman,Newsday:“There’s suspension of disbelief, and then there’s the profound gullibility it would hold to bask in ‘Now You See Me 2, and ’ a sequel to 2013’s magic-themed heist film. That film’s flashy illusions and final-minute escapes stretched credibility,but at least it added up to an entertaining action-thriller. The sequel is twice as preposterous and half as fun.”Related stories from TheWrap:Lizzy Caplan in Talks to Join Jesse Eisenberg, Dave Franco in 'Now You See Me 2' (Exclusive)'Now You See Me' Crosses $200 Million at abroad Box Office
Source: thewrap.com