Now You See Me (2013)

This film stars Jesse Eisenberg as the leader of a group of magicians / illusionists trying to elude the law

Summary

-The FBI and Interpol work together to catch a group of magicians and illusionists calling themselves the Four Horsemen who pull off heists during their shows and put that money into the accounts of their audience members

Cast

-Jesse Eisenberg: J. Daniel Atlas

-Mark Ruffalo: Dylan Rhodes

-Woody Harrelson: Merritt McKinney

-Isla Fisher: Henley Reeves

-Dave Franco: Jack Wilder

-Melanie Laurent: Alma Dray

-Morgan Freeman: Thaddeus Bradley

-Michael Caine: Arthur Tressler

-Michael Kelly: FBI Agent Fuller

-Common: Evans

-Jose Garcia: Etienne Forcier

-Caitronia Balfe: Jasmine Tressler

Did You Know?

-The initial card trick in the beginning is real. No editing was done. It's known as a "card force". This is done when a magician makes the unsuspecting audience member pick a prechosen card. The audience member thinks they have picked a random card, and is reinforced by the magician re-shuffling the deck several times. Only this is just misdirection

-Isla Fisher is seen wearing gloves throughout the whole film. This is because Isla Fisher explained in interviews that her character Henley Reeves is germaphobic

-The final scene was at the Pont des Arts in Paris, France. This is said to have an estimated one million "love locks" attached to it. Following years of complaints from locals, city council workmen have been ordered to start removing the locks

-Near the beginning of the film, the hands of Dan or Dave Buck are seen, but the face of Jesse Eisenberg is digitally composited. Dan and Dave Buck are twin magicians known for their expert skill in sleight of hand tricks in addition to cardistry. One of the most difficult moves in cardistry is called "Pandora" and it is the series of moves seen in this film

-In J. Daniel Atlas' apartment, there is a poster showing magician Lionel Shrike

-In the final scene, where Interpol officer Alma Dray is reading the French newspaper, she reads an old article about magician Lionel Shrike passing away sometime in the 1970s. The photo used is of actor Elias Koteas, best known for playing Det. Alvin Olinsky on the television program Chicago P.D.

-Jake Gyllenhaal was a possible consideration for the role of Dylan Rhodes, before the role went to Mark Ruffalo

-In the scene where Jack Wilder (Dave Franco) is introduced, he is said to be a master pickpocket. In the 1968 film Oliver!, Jack Wild played The Artful Dodger, who was also a pickpocket

-There is another movie, from 2006 called The Prestige, which starred Sir Michael Caine and also involved magic

-Sir Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Jesse Eisenberg seem to have appeared in films based on comic characters from the DC Universe while Mark Ruffalo appeared in films based on Marvel Universe characters

-During the fight scene between Jack Wilder (Dave Franco) and Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo), both actors have confirmed that Franco actually did cut Ruffalo's face with the cards he threw

-The Tarot cards prove to be an essential plot point here. J. Daniel Atlas' (Jesse Eisenberg) gets the  "Lovers" card, which coincides with his prowess with the ladies. Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson) gets "Hermit", which refers to his brother destroying him and leaving him alone with nothing. Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher) gets "High Priestess", a reference to her trick with the piranha-filled bloody tank, a sort of blood sacrifice. Jack Wilder (Dave Franco) gets "Death", foreshadowing his own death later on

-When the Four Horsemen are arrested, Merritt McKinney says "There's no shame for a man to wear a dress." This is a reference to former FBI director J. Edgar Hoover. It was revealed, after his death, that he was a cross-dresser

-In New Orleans, when Arthur Tressler threatens Thaddeus Bradley with financial ruin, Morgan Freeman, in return, states that, when Tressler is holding the voodoo doll "You shouldn't have done that. According to the superstition, one who uses a doll to enact one's own wrath is likely to bring that very wrath unto himself." At the end of the New Orleans show for the Four Horsemen, that very same financial ruin occurs on Tressler