Now You See Me 2

The Robin Hood-like magicians of Now You See Me (Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Mark Ruffalo and Dave Franco, joined by newcomer Lizzy Caplan) reunite for another sting—which goes sour, landing them in the clutches of a tech genius (Daniel Radcliffe) who dragoons them into his own shadowy scheme. Like its precursor, this sequel is very much a magic act itself, filled with misdirection and sleight of hand—and like that first movie, it’s great fun, with a delightful surprise almost every five minutes. Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman return too, and director Jon M. Chu navigates the convolutions of Ed Solomon and Pete Chiarelli’s script with an unaccustomed sprightly touch. Here’s that rare sequel that improves on the original—though you do have to have seen the original to be able to follow it. J.L.