A diamond heist reunites retired Horsemen illusionists with new performers Greenblatt, Smith and Sessa as they target dangerous criminals. (from IMDb)

It's been 9 years since the last Now You See Me film, and it was starting to look like a third film may never happen. Now You See Me is a franchise I didn't originally take interest in, for one reason or another, but I caught up on it later after a friend's recommendation. I ended up enjoying the first movie, but found the second one to be a bit too over-the-top and even sillier than the first movie. I think one of the biggest turn-offs for these movies is the fact that they rely so much on digital, special effects instead of real practical effects for accomplishing the "magic" tricks. At least with films like The Prestige, you know you're going to get more grounded magic trick techniques mixed in with the sci-fi elements. I've always had a really hard time believing anything the Now You See Me movies expect me to.

But that doesn't mean that these movies can't be fun. They feel like a blend of the Ocean's heist movies with magical and fantastical elements. It's all about ensemble casts, too, and the first movie united the talents of Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, and Isla Fisher - also known in the film as "The Four Horsemen" - with Mark Ruffalo and the cinematic legends Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman. The second film swapped Fisher for Lizzy Caplan, who brought a different flavor to the team, and added Daniel Radcliffe in the villain role (oh, and the painfully cheesy evil-twin-brother trope with a second Woody Harrelson performance). It was all a bit too much for the sequel, but it pushed the story forward. Now, set ten years after Now You See Me 2, Now You See Me: Now You Don't introduces a trio of new illusionists that cause the Four Horsemen to reunite. The quartet soon becomes a septet, and the film starts to feel a lot like Ocean's 12 mixed with... just about any other legacy film that introduces newer, younger characters into the mix.

And that might be my biggest complaint about Now You See Me: Now You Don't; it tries way too hard to introduce "new blood" when that's not why anyone would be going to see a third movie in this series. Justice Smith, who seems to work his way into every franchise these days - be it Jurassic World, Dungeons & Dragons, or even Pokemon - is one of the new main characters, joined by Barbie's Ariana Greenblatt and The Holdovers' Dominic Sessa, who just feels like he was cast because they couldn't get Joseph Quinn instead. Just like the new Ghostbusters movies, the new team doesn't feel worth the price of admission, and it isn't until the old team comes on screen that you feel like you get what you paid for.

Because of this, Now You See Me: Now You Don't takes a bit to get going, opening up with an introduction of the new talent, which leads to the Four Horsemen getting back in the game. Along the way, the team has fun getting back into the groove, splitting up into small teams of old-and-new members as they embark on a new journey together. And there are definitely some surprises along the way that ought to be real pleasers for fans of the original two movies. It all ends relatively satisfyingly, leaving the door open wide for more adventures should they decide to make more.

I liked seeing Rosamund Pike join the cast for this outing, but I was a little surprised to see her fill the villain role. Pike plays Veronika Vanderberg, a wealthy woman who specializes in diamonds. Pike is an English-born actress, but she plays a South African here, and her adjusts her accent accordingly... and distractingly. She's probably a bit more Cruella DeVille here as the villain, so you kind of have to just go along with it, but she ends up being a fine antagonist for the Horsemen.

There is something iffy about this series to take into consideration, however. I was recently asked if there is anything occultish about the film and series. Technically, yes, there is. After the first film, the magicians end up becoming part of a secret society called "The Eye" that involves magicians and illusionists. Honestly, it seems to downplay anything sinister and it never appears demonic, but it does seem to emulate the Illuminati in nature and they always make it seem secretive but powerful. Plus, the main characters have more of a Robin Hood mindset in righting wrongs done to the littler people, and that seems to be more of the main focus than any kind of occult-specific pursuits. However, if even the idea of this makes you a bit uncomfortable, I suggest just skipping these movies.

The content for this one is in line with the others, being mostly profanity as the offender. There are a couple suggestive remarks (like Bosco, played by Sessa, making fun of Atlas by asking if he got his name because his mom had "s*x with a map"), but it's mostly just salty language - including a single "F" word from Harrelson (again), over fifteen uses of the "S" word and some blasphemy. There's some action violence - most of it presented more light in tone to keep it fun - but one scene has a character pretending to have a compound fracture with their arm, and we see a fake arm broken in a dramatic fashion with blood squirting from the wound.

If you're a fan of these movies, Now You See Me: Now You Don't should be just fun enough to scratch your itch for more. I skipped the trailers, so I didn't feel prepared for the "new team" slant (which, frankly, I could care less about). However, it's otherwise fun and enjoyable to see the original Horsemen back together again, and that alone makes Now You See Me: Now You Don't worth checking out.