How Not to Pass the Torch: A Case Study of Now You See Me 3. By Fatimah Akanbi
The Now You See Me franchise is well known for its unique take on heist thrillers, featuring a team of magicians who pull off over-the-top righteous heists in style. The first two movies, however imperfect they were, still managed to win the hearts of audiences and garner a cult following because they did right by the kind of story they were telling. That was the charm. The third installment, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t, came along nearly a decade after the second, with a very overt intention to have the Four Horsemen hand over the reins to a new clique of young magicians. This isn’t a bad direction for the franchise to go, considering how much time has already passed with the original cast.
Unfortunately, the movie couldn’t stick the landing. It almost completely disregards the iconic characters that made this franchise in the first place, doing them a blatant disservice in the name of ushering in the new generation. Even so, it doesn’t give much of a solid breeding ground to the youngsters all of this is supposedly for.
How not to pass the torch?
Don’t make the audience take sides
From the beginning, the movie has this air of rivalry in the way the newbies interact with the oldies. Pitting the groups against each other like that forces the audience to consciously or otherwise take sides. And it’s very clear what side that will be. Instead of trying to make the newbies look better than the oldies, decent team work would have sufficed in showing how competent the young magicians are. They don’t have to walk all over The Horsemen before we know they’re good. At any rate, that will just piss off the bulk of viewers, who are watching this movie mainly because they loved the first two. There can’t be much love for the new characters if the ones they first fell in love with are being trashed this way. Fans will surely get protective.
Define each character’s skill set clearly
2013’s Now You See Me launched the whole franchise on solid ground by taking time to properly introduce the characters and their skill sets to the audience. We’ve met them, so we know exactly what each team member does best, and we know where they’re flawed. The newbies, however, don’t seem to have very clear-cut skills, with the exception being Dominic Sessa’s Bosco. On the other hand, his teammates, Charlie and June are often seen springing up with new abilities throughout the story in the fashion of video game power-ups. June was said to be a lock picker initially, but flash forward a few scenes, and we see her fighting like Black Widow. Next, she suddenly learns how to mimic voices like Bosco. Charlie has the most far-fetched power-up, though. He was simply the mastermind all along. How that makes any sense, the script doesn’t say.
Banter does not equal disrespect
Banter is an integral element of group dynamics. It’s always a lot of fun to put characters together despite their differences and watch them throw jabs at each other from time to time. Banter, however, does not equal disrespect. There’s always an undertone of warmth and familiarity beneath the exchange. Sadly, much of the banter we get in this movie between the newbies and the oldies are just straight-up spiteful. So it stops being funny and begins to feel a bit gimmicky. This only further hurts the less-than-endearing relationship between them.
Let the youngsters learn from the experts
The movie opened with a scene where the young magicians pose as The Horsemen and imitate their act. They appeared to be youngsters who have been greatly inspired by The Horsemen, yet in the end, that notion is flipped on its head. Apparently, the kids already had everything figured out from the beginning, and they never needed the oldies at all. This seems to be implying that simply by looking at a perfect act from the outside, you can become a pro at it. And you’ll totally be able to hold your own with the experts that created the act in the first place. So much more effective than the rigours of actually learning that act from the masters. Who would want to watch that, right?
Now You See Me: Now You Don’t isn’t an entirely terrible movie. Of course, it’s got a few things going for it (Rosamund Pike’s performance as the main antagonist comes to mind). But what a terrible way it chooses to pass the torch.
