There are few tags that serious filmmakers are as eager to avoid as their films being called “cheesy.” In snobby film circles, the term is often used to refer to garish, over-the-top cinema that lacks subtlety and nuance, and is considered uncool. For example, bombastic movies like musicals or big-budget action flicks are often called cheesy in a derogatory manner. But the tag does not always have to work against a movie.
Case in point, 2013’s Now You See Me. An action-adventure caper revolving around a group of magician con artists, the movie is generally considered to be cheesy in the best possible manner. Although criticized for its overwrought storyline and various plot holes, Now You See Me nevertheless went on to do very well at the box office and even got a sequel. Let’s look at how Now You See Me managed to be that rare super-cheesy but still well-liked blockbuster.
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A Great Cast of Actors
Lionsgate
If you’re making a movie that is openly cheesy and over-the-top, you need a convincing group of actors to ground the film in something real and honest to give audiences something to relate to. Here, Now You See Me wins out by assembling a crack team of actors for the main cast, including Oscar-caliber thespians like Mark Ruffalo, Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, and Michael Caine.
No matter how ridiculous or unbelievable the story gets, the actors treat each new plot point with proper gravitas and pull the audience in with them through sheer sincerity and charisma. The audience cares about what happens to the characters because the actors make them care. Thanks to the performances of the main cast, the movie goes from being a goofy story about magicians using their tricks to pull off crimes, to a genuinely thrilling clash between the forces of good and evil.
A Slick Direction Style
French filmmaker Louis Leterrier is well-known for kickstarting the Jason Statham action series Transporter, and he brings the same level of fast-paced energy to the script of Now You See Me. Starting out with a bunch of flashy magic tricks as a means to introduce the main characters, Leterrier never lets up the story’s relentless march. There is no time to pause and think of the bizarre story beats as the filmmaker moves smoothly from one elaborate action set piece to another.
This means that audiences are too caught up in the excitement of watching the four main magician con artists take on an evil bank mogul while avoiding the law to wonder about the nitty-gritty of how certain plot points developed with less-than-convincing explanations.
Now You See Me’s Smoke and Mirrors
The art of magic tricks or stage illusions relies upon keeping audiences distracted with exciting stuff happening on stage, so they don’t notice the real action happening backstage to make the trick work. Now You See Me applies this maxim to its own screenplay. Over the course of the movie, audiences get to see, among other things, a woman survive being dunked into a tank full of piranhas, a man being teleported to a different country to rob a bank, and another guy surviving a car crash against all odds.
All these tricks (and more) are so visually exciting that the audience does not bother to question how any of this is supposed to take place in the real world without CGI trickery or stunt doubles. Much like an elaborate stage magic trick, Now You See Me gets away with fooling the audience into thinking they are watching something clever by simply covering up the plot holes and leaps in logic with a barrage of flashy visual stimuli.
Not Taking Itself Too Seriously
Now You See Me is often compared unfavorably to Christopher Nolan’s epic gothic movie about rivaling magicians, The Prestige. But that comparison is unfair because of how differently the two movies approach the world of street and stage magic. The Prestige takes itself very seriously, with most of the magic tricks having a solid basis in reality, and the plot drawing each storyline together like an elaborate puzzle box for audiences to slowly solve.
On the other hand, Now You See Me understands that there is something inherently silly about pretending to do magic in the real world, and dials that silliness factor up to 11 for the sake of an entertaining story. It works more like a James Bond movie from a previous era than a serious treatise on the art of illusions. Like any classic James Bond movie, Now You See Me delights in taking audiences on a cinematic joyride brimming with nifty gadgets, inventive action scenes, charismatic leads, and good-looking locales.
Now You See Me knows that if you are going to make a cheesy, over-the-top movie, it is better to embrace the cheese fully, like an artisan. And so the movie succeeds where many others fail — by wearing its heart proudly on its sleeve instead of constantly winking at the audience, or trying to be anything more than fun, fluffy popcorn fare.
