Nine years after the last outing, the Four Horsemen are back — and this time, the trick actually works. Now You See Me: Now You Don’t is the most warmly received film in the franchise, a fast, colourful heist caper that knows exactly what its audience wants: impossible magic, a twist you will not see coming, and a cast clearly having the time of their lives.
Verdict: 3.5/5. The best-reviewed entry in the series and a genuine crowd-pleaser, even if the tricks feel familiar and the plot ties itself in knots. The magic is back — just don’t look too closely at how it is done.
| Director | Ruben Fleischer |
| Cast | Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher, Lizzy Caplan, Morgan Freeman, Justice Smith, Dominic Sessa, Ariana Greenblatt, Rosamund Pike |
| Release date | 14 November 2025 (US cinemas) |
| Runtime | 1 hour 53 minutes |
| Genre | Heist, crime, thriller |
| Rotten Tomatoes | 61% critics, 81% audience |
| Metacritic | 50/100 |
| CinemaScore | B+ |
| Box office | More than $240 million worldwide on a reported $90 million budget |
| Verdict | 3.5/5 — the franchise’s best-reviewed entry |
The Horsemen Meet the Next Generation
The film picks up ten years after the Horsemen’s last show. A trio of young illusionists — Charlie, played by Justice Smith, Bosco, played by Dominic Sessa, and June, played by Ariana Greenblatt — have been impersonating the Horsemen to rob a corrupt crypto exchange. When J. Daniel Atlas, played by Jesse Eisenberg, tracks them down, he recruits them for a far bigger job: stealing the Heart Diamond from Veronika Vanderberg, played by Rosamund Pike, the head of a South African diamond company tied to money laundering.
The old gang reunites around them: Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher and Morgan Freeman all return, with Lizzy Caplan back as Lula May. It is a large ensemble, but director Ruben Fleischer keeps the focus where it belongs — on the interplay between the veterans and the newcomers, and on the sheer spectacle of the set pieces.
Rosamund Pike Steals the Show
Pike is the film’s sharpest asset. As Vanderberg, she is poised, ruthless and clearly enjoying herself, giving the film a villain with genuine presence after two entries where the antagonists were mostly forgettable. Her scenes with Eisenberg crackle, and she anchors the heist with real stakes: this is not just a magic show, it is a takedown of a criminal empire hiding behind diamonds.
The young trio hold their own, too. Smith brings warmth, Sessa brings comic energy, and Greenblatt brings steel. The generational handover is the film’s smartest idea — it lets the franchise honour its original stars while giving itself somewhere to go next. A sequel is already in development.
The Magic Works — Mostly
Where the film succeeds is in its set pieces. Fleischer stages the illusions with a showman’s flair, and the film leans less on CGI than its predecessor, which critics noted approvingly. The twists arrive thick and fast, and the ending delivers the kind of reveal Eisenberg himself teased before release as genuinely surprising.
The film is also, by the numbers, the franchise’s critical high point. Its 61% on Rotten Tomatoes beats the original’s 51% and the sequel’s 34%, making it the first entry in the series to land on the fresh side of the line. Audiences liked it even more, giving it 81% on Rotten Tomatoes and a B+ CinemaScore.
Where the Illusion Falters
None of that makes the film flawless. The plot is convoluted even by this franchise’s standards, and if you stop to ask how any given trick actually worked, the answers rarely hold up. Some critics found it recycled — the same beats, the same reversals, the same final reveal structure — and at times the film feels like a very polished cover version of the 2013 original.
The middle act drags as the heist planning piles on exposition, and a few of the returning characters get little more than a cameo’s worth of material. Metacritic’s 50 out of 100 tells that side of the story: plenty of reviewers had fun, but few were convinced it was anything more than a slick diversion.
A Box Office Win
Unlike its opening-weekend rival The Running Man, this film was a commercial success. It topped the US box office with a $21.3 million opening weekend and a $75.5 million global debut, going on to gross more than $240 million worldwide against a reported $90 million budget. Its afterlife has been strong, too: it reached number one on Prime Video’s US streaming chart in October 2026, nearly a year after its cinema release.
The Verdict
Now You See Me: Now You Don’t does not reinvent the magic-heist movie, and it does not need to. It is a confident, entertaining return for a franchise many had written off, with a strong villain, a likeable new generation, and enough spectacle to justify the ticket. If you enjoyed the first film, this is the sequel it deserved.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Now You See Me: Now You Don’t a sequel?
Yes. It is the third film in the series and a direct sequel to Now You See Me 2 (2016), arriving nine years later. The story is set ten years after the Horsemen’s last show.
Who is the villain in Now You See Me: Now You Don’t?
Rosamund Pike plays Veronika Vanderberg, the head of a South African diamond company involved in money laundering. The Horsemen target her Heart Diamond.
What is the Rotten Tomatoes score for Now You See Me: Now You Don’t?
The film holds 61% from critics and 81% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, with a Metacritic score of 50 out of 100 — the best critical reception in the franchise.
Will there be a Now You See Me 4?
A sequel is in development, following the third film’s box office success of more than $240 million worldwide.