The first film was an entertainingly daft romp with some sparky characters; this sequel is oddly unengaging. The somewhat carefree plotting of the original is replaced here by extremely careful explanation (the film feels too long) and such explicit detailing of every trick on show that makes every step routine and even completely undoes any element of surprise in the final rug-pulling illusion by pointing out every element of how it will be done in an obvious and heavy-handed fashion. Indeed, the issue of magic being mere illusion is compounded by film being an even bigger illusion, leaving little with which to leave the audience guessing. Lizzy Caplan makes a strong replacement for Isla Fisher, Jesse Eisenberg again shows he is much better on-screen when not trying to create a character too far from-the-norm, the less said about Woody Harrelson's 'twin brother' the better, Daniel Radcliffe has a couple of effective moments as the nominal villain and Mark Ruffalo's acting transcends the material, but overall no-one is really given anything to seek their teeth into. The key locations (Macau and London) look fantastic, and there are a couple of nice pieces of set design, but the overall feel is too careful and planned to really catch fire.
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