Now you see me 2 - review

Opening with Lionel Shrike’s attempt to escape from the safe at the bottom of the Seine which ultimately cost him his life, we see Dylan’s faith in his father severely tested as he prays for him to pull of the stunt. But as he fails to resurface while being watched by members of the public as well as Thaddeus Bradley, whose aim is to expose magic, Dylan is devastated and scarred by the event which will stay with him for life.

Back to the present day and after hiding out for a year after their last big performance which stunned the word, the four horseman – with Henley having been replaced by Lula – are ready for their comeback and aim to make it as big as before.

Their target is to expose the CEO of tech company Octa as a fraud, but as their show gets underway, the horseman find themselves being sabotaged as their own secrets are exposed such as Jack still being alive and FBI Agent Dylan Rhodes being involved with the group.

As the group attempt to escape the FBI, they somehow find themselves in Macau and under the orders of tech genius and former fellow CEO of Octa Walter Mabry (Daniel Radcliffe) who was thought to be dead. Along with Merritt’s brother Chase, Walter challenges the horseman to their biggest heist yet - to steal a memory stick from an underground facility which will allow him to access information on many people across the world.

Using his father – former horseman investor Arthur Tressler’s (Michael Caine) money and distaste of the team, Walter has control of the team as they work out how to fulfil this challenge and begin to learn each other’s skills in an attempt to pull it off.

With Dylan trying to trace the horseman, he reaches out to Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman) who is still in prison and using his FBI status releases him in the hope of being able to use his expertise to trace the team, but as they discover what the team are up to and who they’re working for, the horseman really are being asked to push their skills to the limit.

This sequel was as slick and fascinating as the first movie. It was fast paced and kept going the whole way through until it came to a fantastic ending – one which couldn’t easily be guessed. With the team – Jessie Eisenberg, James Franco & Woody Harrelson, minus Isla Fisher – back together, this movie was close to taking over the first instalment in popularity stakes.

I can’t wait to see the next one!