Now You See Me
Summit Entertainment | Release Date: May 31, 2013 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
50
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 35 Critic Reviews
Positive:
10
Mixed:
22
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
Charlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanMay 30, 2013
Now You See Me can’t quite claim to be the ideal crime drama – that would be “The Usual Suspects,” which justly won an Oscar for its script – but it’s only one level down. Read full review
83
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallMay 30, 2013
This movie has everything up its sleeve and presto chango at its core, ending in defiance to the plot's established logic before viewers realize they've been had. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comIgnatiy VishnevetskyJun 6, 2013
Much of what makes Now You See Me so entertaining — in a gaudy, disposable, Vegas act sort of way — is its ever-escalating ridiculousness. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliMay 30, 2013
It's a little along the same lines as "Ocean's 11" in what it achieves and, like that film, there's plenty of Oscar power among the actors - a combined 15 nominations, to be precise. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanMay 30, 2013
At times, Now You See Me suggests Christopher Nolan's "The Prestige" made with a throwaway wink. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubA.A. DowdMay 29, 2013
Now You See Me, which is essentially an "Ocean’s" movie recast with illusionists, demands a kind of childlike fascination with swindles, and a willingness to be hoodwinked along with the characters. Walk in with those expectations and it won’t be hard to see the appeal of this ludicrous but spirited caper, which has nearly as many rug-pulls as game movie stars. Read full review
72
Film.comWilliam GossMay 30, 2013
The film itself is sly and smug in kind, fleetingly enjoyable for all of its old-school showmanship and high-tech hokiness. Read full review
67
The PlaylistKevin JagernauthMay 30, 2013
Leterrier's film is a reminder that sometimes a good yarn can do enough heavy lifting on its own to provide thrills. Whether or not the illusion pays off will be up to you, but the trick itself may be intriguing enough. Read full review
63
Washington PostStephanie MerryMay 30, 2013
The problem is that, in focusing on what makes a good caper, director Louis Leterrier forgot about what makes a good movie: character development, carefully constructed tension and believable plot points. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaMay 30, 2013
There's a great movie out now about magicians, sleight-of-hand maestros, illusionists, card and coin tricksters. Now You See Me is not that movie. Read full review
60
Total FilmKen McIntyreJul 5, 2013
Ocean’s Eleven meets The Prestige? Not quite. Starts well, ends in a heap, but in between there’s just enough splash and flash to distract from the lack of substance Read full review
60
VarietyScott FoundasMay 31, 2013
Thanks to some accomplished hocus pocus and an appealing cast, this would-be “Ocean’s Eleven” of the magic world remains watchable throughout, even as it plods along without ever quite fulfilling its potential. Read full review
60
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottMay 31, 2013
A sleight-of-hand heist film that feels like a cross between David Blaine and "Ocean's Eleven," with a little Robin Hood thrown in, it's a ripping bit of fun. If, that is, you let it be. Read full review
60
Village VoiceZachary WigonMay 30, 2013
When functioning like a magic trick, this breathlessly entertaining picture delights in its showmanship, but the more entertaining the trickery, the tougher the explanation, and when the truth is revealed the answer can't help but fail to satisfy. Read full review
58
Portland OregonianMarc MohanMay 30, 2013
Although the filmmakers reportedly worked with David Copperfield and other renowned real-life illusionists and tried to minimize the use of CGI, you're still left wondering how much of the magic is merely the kind Hollywood spits out by the terabyte. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriJun 3, 2013
Leterrier’s film is the kind that doesn’t stand up well to scrutiny: The more you know about it, the more befuddled you’ll be. Read full review
50
USA TodayScott BowlesMay 31, 2013
It's mostly smoke and mirrors. After Freeman's snooze became a YouTube fixture, the actor jokingly dismissed the nap, saying he was using "Google eyelids" to check his Facebook account. You may find yourself attempting the same feat, because Now has little up its sleeve. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerMay 31, 2013
There is nothing magical about seeing one’s umpteenth car chase. Mark Ruffalo plays the weirdly scruffy FBI agent on the case, while Morgan Freeman, in super-slow mode, plays a famous magic debunker. He’d make the ideal critic for this movie. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineAbhimanyu DasMay 31, 2013
There's nothing behind all this sturm und drang but a lineup of insubstantial ciphers, all false fronts and empty words in a pretend world not quite conducive to emotional investment. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyMay 30, 2013
There’s a fine line sometimes, as "This is Spinal Tap" reminded us, between stupid and clever. Now You See Me wobbles along that tightrope for much of its running time. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeMark FeeneyMay 30, 2013
The editing of the action sequences is an insult to the idea of narrative clarity. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyMay 30, 2013
A superficially diverting but substance-free concoction, a would-be thriller as evanescent as a magic trick and one that develops no suspense or rooting interest because the characters possess all the substance of invisible ink. Read full review
50
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzMay 30, 2013
Now You See Me is a movie about magic, but its most astonishing trick is how little mileage it gets out of a stellar cast. Read full review
50
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreMay 30, 2013
For all its showmanship, Now You See Me has a lot less up its sleeve than it lets on. Read full review
40
The GuardianPeter BradshawJul 5, 2013
Overcooked, overcomplicated and underinteresting, this heist caper turns into a mess. Read full review
40
The New YorkerDavid DenbyJun 6, 2013
It seems that the director, who also made "The Incredible Hulk" and "Clash of the Titans," will do anything to distract us from the emptiness to which he has devoted himself. [10 & 17 June 2013, p.110]
40
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenJun 5, 2013
Director Leterrier keeps the camera moving and swooping throughout the film as if the Steadicam were another device in the magicians’ tool belt. A clear sense of space and sleight-of-hand is rarely achieved. Read full review
40
Time OutJoshua RothkopfMay 31, 2013
When Mark Ruffalo shows up as a crumpled detective, you expect a dose of reality, yet on his heels come twin hams Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman, whose solemn presences (as Christopher Nolan knows well) prove wonderful distractions from silliness. Read full review
40
NPRJoel ArnoldMay 31, 2013
It's all a little dumb, but the movie boasts several non-CG tricks and a few genuinely mesmerizing set pieces including a hand-to-hand-to-magic combat scene between Ruffalo and the spry Franco. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinMay 30, 2013
For all the talent up on the screen — and one can't fault the performances — the movie just doesn't deliver. Read full review
40
The New York TimesStephen HoldenMay 30, 2013
Long before the story culminates with a preposterous final revelation, whatever hopes you had that Now You See Me might have had anything to say about the profession of magic, rampant greed or anything else have been dashed. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanMay 30, 2013
For a while, Leterrier does manage to conjure up a little bit of magic between all these charming actors. And then, presto: Just like that, it’s gone. Read full review
38
Rolling StonePeter TraversMay 30, 2013
I left this movie feeling I’d been had. And not in a good way. Read full review
38
New York PostSara StewartMay 30, 2013
None of these seemingly plot-rich questions are explored; instead, we’re stuck with a greasy-haired Mark Ruffalo, as his detective character flounders along in their wake, muttering that he doesn’t have time for this magic crap. Read full review
38
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperMay 30, 2013
This is a slick con, all flash and no substance. Now You See Me seems awfully sure of itself, with self-important, intrusive music, sweeping tracking shots and actors chewing up the scenery. Read full review
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