Now You See Me, Now You Don't: Third Time is Definitely The Charm

Now You See Me: Now You Don’t (2025) is a Hollywood performance magic heist film that was released to cinemas across the world on November 14^th, 2025. The film was directed by Ruben Fleischer, with screenplay by Michael Lesslie, Paul Wernick, Rhett Reese, and Seth Grahame-Smith, and story adaptation by Eric Warren Singer and Lesslie. With a runtime of 1 hours, 52 minutes, the film is a continuation of the Now You See Me franchise, serving as a direct sequel to its predecessors (Now You See Me, and Now You See Me 2). It continues the journey of the notorious Four Horsemen, whose next act is to usher in a new generation of magician activists by teaming up with them to take down a criminal heiress.

Synopsis

A decade after the events of the second film, three rising magicians, Charlie, Bosco LeRoy, and June Rouclere, pull off a bold and crazy stunt: a fabricated Four Horsemen performance crafted through deepfakes and holograms. Their show, in true Horseman fashion, essentially bankrupts the fortune of a corrupt cryptocurrency-exchange owner and redistributes the stolen funds to the audience.

After their success, the trio are unexpectedly confronted by the real J. Daniel Atlas, one of the original Horsemen. Apparently acting on instructions from the Eye, delivered through a mysterious tarot card as usual, he recruits them for an ambitious new mission: to steal “the Heart,” the largest diamond in the world.

The gem belongs to Veronika Vanderberg, head of a powerful South African diamond empire founded by her father, a former Nazi who used the business as a money-laundering haven for war criminals. After pitching her famous yearly auction to a board of potential buyers (albeit with inflated prices) and while preparing for said auction, Veronika receives a call from an unidentified man using a voice changer, threatening to expose her company’s immoral dealings unless she hands over the diamond.

At an exclusive Antwerp gala where the diamond is on display ahead of its auction, Daniel and the three young magicians carry out a meticulously choreographed heist. Using disguises and prop swaps, they successfully swipe the diamond from Veronika. Her security team, and even the local police, are unable to mount an effective chase, mostly due to interference; Jack Wilder, Henley Reeves, and Merritt McKinney, the other members of the original Horsemen suddenly reappear to aid in the escape. The original Horsemen explain that they, too, were contacted by the Eye through tarot cards, like Daniel.

Later, when they’re in safer waters, the Horsemen disclose the truth behind their long absence: a previous heist had gone disastrously wrong, leading to the arrest of their leader, Dylan Rhodes, who has since been imprisoned in Russia. This event had heavily fractured the team and forced them into hiding.

The group travels to a secluded estate in France owned by the Eye, where they encounter Thaddeus Bradley, a close friend and the former grandmaster of the organization who has also been summoned by a tarot card instructing him to aid the Horsemen. Thaddeus reveals that Veronika’s darkest secrets are hidden somewhere on the property and urges them to uncover the truth, and they split up to do so. Charlie connects with Henley, who helps him find the confidence to advance his performance beyond behind-the-scenes work. Jack works with June, and they both get along incredibly well, as they are both escape artists. Merritt searches alone. And Daniel and Bosco are left with each other. Despite being incredibly similar, they butt heads often, and a dare from Daniel leads to a show-off and showdown of magic tricks from everyone.

Charlie and Bosco eventually discover a concealed message behind a painting: Veronika’s full client list and evidence of their criminal operations. Before they can act on it, the estate is raided by police officers secretly working for Veronika. The team is forced to split up once again and navigate the estate’s illusion-filled architecture, including a mirrors room, gravity-defying staircases, and a rotating corridor, to disorient pursuers.

Despite their efforts, Merritt, Jack, and June are captured. Charlie, Bosco, Daniel, and Henley escape through a hidden tunnel, only to find Thaddeus ahead of them, mortally wounded. He dies in their presence, leaving them with more questions than answers.

At the police station, Veronika personally interrogates Merritt, only for him to turn the tables. Using his psychological insight, and rumors he’d previously heard, he unnerves her by deducing the truth: after her father’s affair with their housekeeper led to her mother’s suicide, Veronika arranged the deaths of both the housekeeper and her own half-brother.

Meanwhile, Lula May, Henley’s replacement horseman from the second film, arrives undercover and helps Jack and June break free, though Merritt is seized again by Veronika before he can escape. Once reunited, the team immediately begins strategizing a rescue mission for Merritt. At the same time, Veronika receives another call from the disguised voice, intensifying the pressure on her to recover the diamond.

From this point on, the film progresses even faster and more heart racing as the team travels to Abu Dhabi for one last large-scale show, the plan for Merritt’s rescue goes incredibly awry, Veronika confronts her blackmailer in a heart stopping plot twist and the grand finale reveals the true mastermind and what comes next for our new, bigger group of Horsemen.

Ariana Greenblatt_Justice Smith_Dominic Sessa in Now You See Me, Now You Don’t

Cast and Performances

Jesse Eisenberg as J. Daniel Atlas
Isla Fisher as Henley Reeves
Dave Franco as Jack Wilder
Woody Harrelson as Merritt McKinney
Lizzy Caplan as Lula May
Dominic Sessa as Bosco LeRoy
Ariana Greenblatt as June Rouclere
Justice Smith as Charlie

I love when each installment of a franchise introduces new characters that don’t take away the authenticity of the originals but rather blends in and compliments them instead. However, given that there is a 10-year time difference between this and the last movie (as opposed to the merely 18-month difference between the first movie and the second), I kind of expected a bit more character development in the original characters than we were given. Really, the only notable change or growth is that Henley has kids now.

The problem with this is that the dialogue, while still fun and witty, it lacks uniqueness. Daniel is still an arrogant asshole, Merritt is still equal parts cheeky and deadpan, Lula is still unhinged, Jack still gives stoner energy in a setting that requires the absolute opposite, and Henley is still the poor underestimated horsewoman that used to date Daniel and be his assistant (there is literally a scene where the writers attempt to resurrect Daniel’s bitter jealousy, which is totally not creepy at all even though it has been 10 whole years). And don’t get me wrong. Like I said before, the dialogue is still entertaining to watch, especially when you consider the added chemistry the new characters bring to the table. But it is exactly the presence of these new characters that make me wish that they did do more with our original horsemen. They have to be mentors now, and Daniel is still threatened by the thought of not being the “smartest guy in the room” and makes it a point to beat Bosco down from any confidence the latter might’ve gained for himself. And even though at the end it becomes clear that this was done on purpose, the new generation was meant to be underestimated so that their mastermind plan was all the more shocking to everyone involved, I can’t help but think that the parallels between Bosco and Daniel could’ve been used for better storytelling when it came to both their characters.

Now You See Me, Now You Don’t Movie Poster

And please Hollywood, at this point I’m begging for a new set of jokes when it comes to “Gen Z” humor. Not every joke has to be about the ‘alien’ way we talk (half of which are weirdly overexaggerated), or our dependence on technology and internet (oddly enough, we seem to be the least dependent demographic, if Facebook statistics are to be trusted). It just gets to a point. If we can’t do Gen Z targeted humor without resorting to those cliché jokes, then perhaps we can scrap it altogether and focus on other types of humor.

This is the part where I talk about the acting performances. I really respect actors, guys. I can’t begin to imagine the level of preparation and practice required to pull off films like this. And not to mention the range of all the actors involved. Ariana Greenblatt going from slaying the wonderful world of Barbie (2023) to this speaks greatly of her abilities (and she comes through excellently every single time). Contrarily, actors like Sessa who doesn’t have that many official projects under his belt but can still put on an almost flawless performance of a character that can stand toe to toe with J. Daniel Atlas (in both intelligence and jackassery) is equally impressive.

Now writers, why bring Thaddeus back if you’re just going to kill him off right in front of me? Words can’t describe how devastated I was in that theatre.

What I Liked and Disliked

My lovely readers, I apologize profusely in advance, because while I will do my absolute best to be as objective as possible…

…I’ve been a diehard fangirl of the Now You See Me franchise for a little over 10 years now.

I’m not even joking, my first experience with the franchise came with the first movie back in 2013. And younger me was fully immersed in the magical world of, well, magic.

So, trust me when I say I walked into that theatre with utmost excitement and anticipation.

And I was not disappointed.

See, the franchise is famously known for breaking what I call the “Continuation Curse”, which is basically the concept of an amazing and iconic film/series that gets a painfully subpar or disappointing sequel. But not here! Now You See Me 2 while not as impactful socio-culturally was still beautifully filmed and added a fresh look with the inclusion of Lula. And now the third movie still met and surpassed my expectations to some extent, especially with that radical plot twist.

I could tell that the writers really tried to push forward and not to rely too much on the nostalgia, but unfortunately, it still turned out that way; many critical points of the film were capped off with the reappearance of a character or gimmick from previous installments. Myself and the person next to me in the theatre were watching two completely different movies only made distinct by the fact that I had previous knowledge of the origin of certain plot points and they didn’t.

Yes, it was that bad.

Nevertheless, I simply have to appreciate the cinematography and extreme care that went into filming a movie with a concept like this. This goes for all the Now You See Me movies, but especially this one. The scene where we have a “magic-off” where they try to show off their skills? Magnificent. The Police escape and eventually the Abu Dhabi reveal? Amazing.

I also love the female representation with Henley, Lula, and June, and the acknowledgement that performance magic doesn’t often have the space for women who aren’t assistants or sidekicks and want to lead instead (a fact that needs to change).

I do have one more peeve with this film though, alongside its predecessors: the villains. While our heroes are consistent with their appearances and storytelling, the villains who our hero must defeat are very… one-and-done. There seems to be no further story or involvement (something was attempted in part 2 with Arthur Tressler, but that was it). It makes the franchise more sitcom-like than a progression of a story.

Final Thoughts

Now You See Me is a franchise that took a unique concept and actively worked to outdo itself in that concept with every installment. Whether or not it has been consistent on that front is still subjective to some extent, but as far as I’m concerned, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t is definitely a step in the right direction.

Word on the street is that a sequel is already being planned. If they can be consistent enough with what looks to be a growing loyal fanbase, who knows, it could grow to have the same ground as another fan-favorite franchise: The Fast and The Furious.

I rate Now You See Me, Now You Don’t (2025): 4 out of 5

Our Rating of This Movie

Are you a fan of the franchise? Which magic trick is your favorite? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Author

Winifred Eze

Winnie is a business student by day and a writer by night, with a passion for movies and the art of storytelling. Whether it’s dissecting a film’s themes, exploring character arcs, or celebrating cinematic masterpieces, she loves diving deep into the magic of the big screen. She also strives to bring fresh perspectives and engaging discussions to fellow writers and readers.