Illusion, glamour and a brand-new heist—but has the widely anticipated threequel lost all its magic?

The movie exhibits the well-loved four horsemen, with three younger additions to the group: Bosco (Dominic Sessa), Charlie (Justice Smith), and

June (Ariana Greenblatt). The unlikely three found each other in a magic shop and bonded over their gifts of illusion and the hardships they had collectively experienced that brought them there.

In a captivating turn of events, Bosco, Charlie and June meet J Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg) and eventually, in a witty and long-awaited reunion, the remaining members of the infamous magical group. They are brought together to complete the task the set before them, entailing stealing “the heart”—a diamond possessed by Veronika Vanderberg (Rosamund Pike) and exposing her corruption and money laundering to the world.

Off the bat, the dynamic between the original Horsemen remained completely intact. J Daniel Atlas with his dry sarcasm, Merritt Mckinney (Woody Harrelson) donning a more openly witty style of humour, Jack Wilder (Dave Franco) has playful one-liners, and Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher) brings a sass and empowered liveliness to the group. The familiar actors slipped immediately back into their characters and dynamic.

The younger generation of Horsemen’s dynamic, however, felt lacklustre. Moments between them felt forced and over rehearsed leading to a robotic onscreen dynamic. Separately, the actors shone, but together, bond and connection were lacking, especially for a group that calls themselves a “family”.

Dominic Sessa utterly excelled in his role and presented a true outstanding range of his acting ability into the film. His impressions are debatably unmatched; the interesting character exudes a sense of teenage nonchalance that is performed wonderfully. Charlie (Justice Smith) was one of the most interesting characters of the franchise, quietly conniving. Despite the issues of the plot, the infamous twist was played to excellence. June (Ariana Greenblatt) was not an overall enticing character, yet her dynamic with Jack Wilder (Dave Franco) was endearing. In fact, significant interesting moments involved the connections between the original five and newer additions, with one of the most interesting plot points being the utter underestimation of the younger generation. The original Horsemen give the younger three an image to aspire to and learn from, yet the older Horsemen had some must-need advice from the younger three also. Perhaps the biggest trick was underestimating the younger generation.

The villainous aspect of this film was brought to life by the acclaimed Rosamund Pike. Her subtlety in the playing of Veronika Vanderberg created an especially discreetly terrifying character. She donned a South African accent, which many state is the real plot twist of the film, in her role as a stylish heir to a diamond empire.

The main irritation with the film was a tangled, tousled plot to make way for fight scenes and action. The plot of the film roamed around and shifted on a multitude of occasions for an action sequence, e.g. a brawl or chase. Though the classic action sequences are absolute necessities when it comes to the Now You See Me franchise, it was in some instances unessentially done at the cost of a substantial and consistent plot.

As well as this, the film deals with comedy, action, and thriller-like aspects as well as it being a heist movie. It attempts to be a lot of things, and succeeds in many comedic and escapist aspects, yet not in terms of a congruous plot.

This film was a moment of cinematic enjoyment, not genius. However, enjoyment in the cinema is increasingly fundamental. Now, arguably more than ever, cinema is needed for enjoyment and to escape into the world of film to learn, escape, sit back, and enjoy—this film does just that.

One of the most impressive aspects of this film is the actors learning and appreciating real tricks, illusions, and magic. As is wonderfully summarised by Jack Wilder (Dave Franco) in this certainly entertaining threequel: “We all need magic now more than ever.”