NOW YOU SEE ME 2 (2016) – My rating: 8.5/10

I thought the first “Now You See Me” was clever and it was but the sequel has more substance and is even more entertaining. It’s just as clever plus they explain how most of the tricks are done, which is nice to know. The same crew is back with the exception of Isla Fisher who played Henley Reeves, the only female member of the Four Horsemen. Isla was replaced by Lizzy Caplan as Lula May, the new Illusionist.  The rest of the crew consists of Woody Harrelson as Merritt McKinney, Jesse Eisenberg as J. Daniel Atlas and Dave Franco as Jack Wilder.  Also back is their handler, FBI agent Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) and Morgan Freeman as Thaddeus Bradley, an ex-magician who, for thirty years, has made money by revealing the secrets behind other magicians’ tricks.  Thaddeus was arrested by Dylan in the original movie and appears as an inmate in the sequel.  Mark seeks revenge as he blames Thaddeus for the death of his father, Lionel Shrike, who was also a magician.   The sequel starts out one year after the team goes into hiding from the FBI.  Upon further instructions from the Eye, who is the secret society of magicians they’ve been recruited by, their new mission is to expose corrupt businessman Owen Case (Ben Lamb), whose new software secretly steals data on its users for Case’s benefit.  This assignment starts the Four Horsemen’s new adventures and makes for a pretty good sequel.  Once again, Michael Cain does an excellent job as Arthur Tressler, the businessman who the Horsemen bankrupted in the original film.   I enjoyed the movie and found it to be entertaining.  I thought it was clever and well though out.  I understand another sequel is in the works, slated to open in 2017.  I takes a lot to come up with the tricks and plots that can hold your attention as the “Now You See Me” series has.  Kudos to the writers.