Streaming Recommendation: NOW YOU SEE ME (2013)

NOW YOU SEE ME is the best "Magicians robbing banks" movie I have ever seen (and I've seen NOW YOU SEE ME 2).

Directed by Louis Leterrier (THE TRANSPORTER), NOW YOU SEE ME tells the tale of 4 mediocre magicians who are brought together by a mysterious benefactor to put on some shows (and rob from the rich and give to the poor). It's a pretty preposterous premise for a film.

But darn it all...it's pretty entertaining.

Featuring an all-star, charismatic cast - Jesse Eisenberg (THE SOCIAL NETWORK), Woody Harrelson (ZOMBIELAND), Isla Fischer (WEDDING CRASHERS) and Dave Franco (THE DISASTER ARTIST) play "The Four Horsemen" - NOW YOU SEE ME is a fun romp that will find you rooting for these Magicians to pull off their "jobs" while outsmarting their opponents.

But this film does an interesting thing - it also makes you root for the cops that are on their tail. Mark Ruffalo (SPOTLIGHT)and Melania Laurent (fresh off her great work in INGLORIOUS BASTERDS) make a charming pair and so your loyalties are split. Do you want the Magicians to get away with it? Or...do you want these cops to catch them?

For the thankless role of Thaddeus Bradley - the former Magician who explains to the police (and the audience) how these Magicians are pulling their pranks - the filmmakers make another smart choice. They cast Morgan Freeman., so even though this character is a smug sumbitch...you can't help but be drawn to him.

Oh...and did I mention that Michael Caine is on board as the billionaire who is bankrolling the Magicians' shows?

This whole circus is wonderfully brought together by Director Leterrier. It is the best work of his career, for - I think - he spent most of his time working on the action and spectacle of the magic and let this stable of terrific actors work their magic on an screenplay that is strong enough to act as a basic framework for these characters.

Like most magic tricks, if you start looking too hard at the edges of things, you'll start to see the seams - and the magic will start to fall away (somewhat). I would recommend that you not do that. I think you should just sit back and let the magic unfold in front of you. You'll be glad you did.

Letter Grade: A-

8 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)