Now You See Me 2

The arena-filling magicians with a penchant for robbing the super-rich to refund their audiences return for another round of digitally finessed illusion in this bustling caper sequel. Since its predecessor revealed that Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson and compadres were unwittingly in the employ of moonlighting FBI agent Mark Ruffalo, where next for the so-called Four Horsemen? Well, Lizzy Caplan takes over from Isla Fisher as the token feisty female member, the gang find themselves tangling with evil tech-magnate Daniel Radcliffe (trying a bit too hard), while the previous movie's veteran illusionist-debunker Morgan Freeman plots his revenge from a prison cell. First-time around, the trickery seemed fresh enough to dazzle an audience glad of a break from the treadmill of superhero flicks, but here it's become a struggle to turn the material into a viable franchise. With miles of convoluted exposition to get through, the magicians themselves have little opportunity to strut their stuff - and when they do, their tricks are so patently movie effects that any sense of illusion is lost.