Now You See Me 3 Review: I didn’t walk into Now You See Me: Now You Don’t expecting anything special. Honestly, I walked in expecting to roll my eyes every ten minutes. I’ve never been the biggest fan of this franchise. The first movie was “okay,” the second one felt like someone slipped a wizard into a heist film, and by the end, I was pretty much done with these CGI magic tricks pretending to be “illusions.”

So yeah, I wasn’t excited.
And then… the movie actually surprised the hell out of me.

Somebody in that writers’ room finally said, “Hey, maybe magicians should act like actual magicians, not Doctor Strange without a cape.” And the whole film changed.

My Rating: 3.0/5

Category	Details
Title	Now You See Me, Now You Don’t (Now You See Me 3)
Franchise	Third film in the Now You See Me series
Genre	Heist, Thriller, Mystery, Magic
Director	Ruben Fleischer
Writers	Seth Grahame-Smith, Michael Lesslie, Rhett Reese
Release Year	2025 (expected)
Runtime	1h 52m
Main Returning Cast	Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco, Mark Ruffalo

A Franchise That Finally Figures Out Its Own Identity

The biggest win? The magic is finally grounded.
Not crazy CGI card-bending nonsense. Not “I teleport behind you and steal your wallet.”
Actual tricks. Actual illusions. And, this is the part that made me grin, they show you how the tricks work.

It feels like watching a real heist movie where every twist has a payoff. The setup. The misdirection. The reveal. And instead of feeling cheated, you’re like, “Damn… okay, that was clever.”

Ruben Fleischer deserves credit here. His direction brings back that tactile, practical feel this franchise desperately needed. His tone sits somewhere between a slick heist flick and a fun stage show, finally, the right combo.

The Old Horsemen + The New Kids = Surprisingly Great Chemistry

Another thing I didn’t expect:
The new group of magicians? They actually work.

Justice Smith plays the “magic nerd” with so much charm that I couldn’t even be mad when he geeked out every two minutes. Dominic Sessa’s impression-based illusions are hilarious and creative. And Ariana Greenblatt? She gets some of the best scenes in the movie.

But what sold me was how smoothly the film blends the new cast with the original Horsemen. It doesn’t feel forced. It doesn’t feel like the old guard vs the new kids. They just fit.

And yes, Isla Fisher is back, and the movie instantly feels better with her energy in it.

A Surprisingly Strong Script… Mostly

Look, the script isn’t perfect.
Once you get the full reveal at the end, there are a couple of scenes that you look back on and think, “Wait… but why would they do that if they already knew X?”
Nothing movie-ruining, but it’s there.

The pacing dips a bit in the middle, classic “we have 9 main characters, let’s give them all a turn.” But the payoff is strong enough that I didn’t mind too much.

Oh, and one more thing:
Dave Franco basically becomes Gambit with playing cards, and I ate it up. Completely unrealistic, but stupidly fun.

The Villain? Surprisingly Solid.

Rosamund Pike absolutely owns her scenes.
She brings this cold, calculating presence that the franchise never really had before. Her one-on-one scenes with the Horsemen were some of my favorites.

And yes, the twist involving her actually works, which is rare for this franchise.

So… Did I Actually Enjoy a Now You See Me Movie?

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but yeah.
I genuinely had a good time.
For the first time, this franchise feels like what it should have been from the beginning, a clever mix of street-smart magic and slick heist energy.

If they keep going in this direction, I’d absolutely watch a fourth film.

Also Read: The Running Man Review: Edgar Wright’s Slowest Movie Yet—What Went Wrong?

Good & Bad

My Personal Rating

• Action: ★★★★☆ (4/5)
• Comedy: ★★★☆☆ (3/5)
• Drama/Heist: ★★★★☆ (4/5)
• Suspense: ★★★☆☆ (3/5)

Final Verdict:
Worth watching in theaters, and easily the best film in the franchise.