Now You See Me (Again and Again)

I just recently watched the movie Now You See Me for the third time and I thought about how nice it would be to see it for the first time. Without any prior knowledge, I could fully experience all the twists and turns throughout the movie again. 

Now You See Me is a film that follows four magicians that come together to form a group act called the Four Horsemen after receiving mysterious instructions from an anonymous source. The group performs in showsh where they carry out stunts like robbing a bank from 5000 miles away and distributing the stolen money to the audience in a philanthropic fashion, which quickly draws the attention of the police. Throughout the rest of the movie, the Four Horsemen drag the police through a cat-and-mouse chase where they always stay several steps ahead of the police by using classic magic techniques like misdirection to deceive them. 

When I first watched the film many years ago I was mainly just fascinated by all the illusions. I didn't care at all when the characters revealed the magic tricks and deceptions because I was just so awestruck by the production. Back then, I never really understood all the nuances that went on, but after taking a deeper dive in to magic and learning about magic theory over this past summer, I appreciate the behind-the-scences efforts that go in to each trick or illusion much more. 

While watching Now You See Me again, I felt like I was able to catch on to the misdirection the Four Horsemen were using to fool the police before it was actually revealed to the audience. However, I don't know if that's due to my deeper knowledge of magic theory or just because I was watching it for the third time. So I wonder if I would still be able to discern the techniques the Four Horsemen use and not fall for their deceptions if I watched the film for the first time right now. 

Comments

  1. JakeDecember 7, 2021 at 2:11 PM

    This is a really cool idea. Watching movies with lots of twists for the first time is always a special experience that you really cant get the next time. It's also really cool that you can use what you've learned about magic to dig deeper into the misdirection in the movie.

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  2. RylandDecember 7, 2021 at 3:06 PM

    I really like this movie, I think that is a good answer. Not as many movies have as many tricks that can fool the audience like that movie does. I think some of them are better than others but all of them are a great spectacle. You are a smart fellow, I think you could figure them out though were you to watch it for the first time now.

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  3. Zahraa RasheedDecember 9, 2021 at 9:31 PM

    I found your post really interesting because I recently watched Now You See Me for the first time over the summer. I loved all the different uses of misdirection and the mystery made it intriguing, so I'm not sure how fun it would be to watch it while knowing whats going to happen. It really does give a unique experience when you watch it for the first time.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Dan Y.December 11, 2021 at 10:34 PM

    I haven't seen this movie yet, but I have seen clips of it. I was pretty awestruck too after watching just 1 minute bits, so I imagine having the scenes completely fleshed out in the full movie is even cooler. I haven't delved too far into its plot or anything, so hearing how intricate the production of this movie is makes me want to go check it out soon.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ekam GhotraDecember 13, 2021 at 10:02 PM

    I really really love this movie - theres something about magic that is so fascinating. Like yea okay theres probably an explanation for the tricks people do, but theres a certain fun and exhilaration in fooling yourself (or maybe just ignoring logic) and seeing the inexplainable happen in front of you. This movie is really the only magic movie that I think I ever watched (except for the sequel to this movie) so it really holds a special place among some of my favorite movies

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