'Now You See Me' is occasionally fun, and at times even clever, but it's also vapid, pretentious and too often stretches credibility to the breaking point—and then way, way beyond. Even a movie about magic has to be grounded in reality, and every trick must have some sort of explanation or it's a cheat. 'Now You See Me' tries to "Abracadabra!" its way around this fact once too often.

At nearly two hours, this act threatens to get old long before the end credits, but a really good cast and energetic direction hold it all together until the final twist puts a satisfying(ish) bow on the whole thing.