Now You See Me 2 (2016)

"Now You See Me 2" stars Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Lizzy Caplan, Daniel Radcliffe, Morgan Freeman, and Michael Caine.  Released on June 10, 2016, the film has the Four Horseman on another adventure when their latest mission goes awry.

The film is directed by Jon M. Chu, who also directed films such as Step Up 2: The Streets, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, and Jem and the Holograms.  It is a sequel to the 2013 heist thriller, Now You See Me.  The first film, which was directed by Louis Leterrier, was a surprise box office success when it was released three years ago.  As a result, A sequel was made with the third installment in the planning stages.  I haven't exactly watched the first film when it first came out, but I've seen parts of it on television.  Going into this film, I was afraid that I might be confused as to what's going on since it continues where the last film left off, so I'm going to be reviewing it as its own film.  I decided to see it today instead of during its opening weekend because it was really packed during the evening showings.  With that said, does this sequel have enough tricks up its sleeve to warrant a recommendation?

Pros:
The performances were respectable.

Some of the interactions between the main characters work most of the time.

The magic tricks shown were undeniably impressive.

Daniel Radcliffe was convincing as Walter.

Decent direction from Jon M. Chu.

Cons:
The last two twists were predictable.

Caine's character felt unnecessary.

Final thoughts: It may feel like an unwanted sequel, but "Now You See Me 2" has enough magic and thrills to deliver some decent amount of entertainment.  While the amount of twists do get a bit noticeable near the end, it didn't quite bother me that much because clearly, I was mesmerized by the characters' magic tricks the entire time.  If you like the first film because of the tricks, then there's plenty of them here that will blow your mind.  Well, not literally, because that would be gross.  It's worth a recommendation to those who are into magic or to some people who liked the first film.     

B-