Film review: Now You See Me starring Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Morgan Freeman and Woody Harrelson

Louis Leterrier, 115mins. Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Mélanie Laurent (12A)

Dave Franco, Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher and Woody Harrelson in a scene from 'Now You See Me' (AP)

Louis Leterrier's ultra-slick caper thriller is so busy pulling the carpet from under the audience's feet that it soon loses its own balance. The tricksy storyline follows four magicians (Eisenberg, Harrelson, Isla Fisher and Dave Franco) who use their skills to perform heists on a global scale. Ruffalo is the hapless FBI agent trailing in their wake.

The magic routines are staged with plenty of élan but there are so many plot reversals and sleights of hand that it is well nigh impossible to work out which characters we are supposed to care about or why. Old-timers Morgan Freeman (an embittered magician) and Michael Caine (a business mogul) lend the film what little gravitas it has.