NOW YOU SEE ME 2 Blu-ray Review

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Continuing almost right where the first film left off, NOW YOU SEE ME 2 begins with The Horseman still on the run.  The can’t perform in public, Henley Reeves left the group, and the three that are left are getting annoyed with waiting for Dylan Rhodes’ next instructions.  Ever since Rhodes put the magic debunker Thaddeus Bradley in jail, Rhodes has had to use misdirection with the FBI.  He also found a new female horseman named Lula May who has a weird way about her.  She is just excited to be a part of it all.  
 
When Dylan gets word of a cell phone mogul who wants to secretly invade his customer’s privacy, The Horseman decide to intervene.  This will also be their big comeback to show the world that they still exist.  Little do they know what kind of rabbit hole they are headed down.  

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The film is directed by Jon M. Chu who is best known for directing GI JOE: RETALIATION and JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS.  He seems to be the “go to” when it comes to sequels or continuing a franchise.  He is even slated to do the 3rd film in this series and hopefully he can get everyone on board.  In this film, he has taken the plot and made what feels more like a heist movie than anything.  Now this idea isn’t a bad thing but a sequel should try to surpass the first film.
 
Cast
Jesse Eisenberg – J. Daniel Atlas.
Mark Ruffalo – Agent Dylan Rhodes/Dylan Shrike
Woody Harrelson – Merritt McKinney and Chase McKinney
Dave Franco – Jack Wilder
Lizzy Caplan – Lula May
Daniel Radcliffe – Walter Mabry
Morgan Freeman – Thaddeus Bradley
 

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The transfer is a 1080p AVC presentation.
 
The video has an incredibly clean transfer.  The details are sharp through the film and even in some of the lower-lit scenes.  There are times where the contrasting is lost and it can affect the details.  As far as the coloring goes, there are some spots that are brilliant and bold such as in the casino but overall the color is dim.  The skin tones have a grayish or even green look rather than looking natural.  There is even a scene in Macau where Thaddeus is talking and his face appears blue. There’re also some spots of crushing but not enough to take you out of the film.
 

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The audio has a Dolby Atmos track but it will default to a Dolby TrueHD 7.1 mix.
 
The 7.1 mix utilizes the entire home theater from the very beginning.  The opening is of Morgan Freeman’s character going over the events of the first movie and as the images are swirling around, so are the sounds in every channel.  There is constantly ambient sound that makes you feel immersed in the film.  There are a lot of the heavy-hitting LFEs in the sound effects but they are most prominent in the score. It is a heavy mix and spectacular for Blu-ray,
 

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-Audio Commentary with Director Jon M. Chu
 
-The Art of the Ensemble: This featurette discusses the cast and bringing them back for the sequel.
 
-You Can’t Look Away: The focus of this featurette is bringing the various visual effects to the screen.
 
-Bringing Magic to Life: This featurette shows how the filmmakers love the idea of magic.

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Disc Details
2-disc set w/ 1 Blu-ray and 1 DVD
Digital copy
 
Running Time
129 mins
 
Edition Ratings
Rated PG-13
 
Region Coding
Region A
 
Video Resolution
1080p AVC MPEG-4
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
 
Audio Mixes
English Dolby Atmos
English Dolby TrueHD 7.1
Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
English Dolby Digital 2.0
 
Subtitles
English
English SDH
Spanish
 

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Overall, I really like the film.  Is it better than the original?  Not quite but this film is trying to guide the series into a new direction with some of the revelations in the plot.  As I mention, the 3rd film has been announced with Jon M. Chu at the helm so they are going the distance with this franchise.  The Blu-ray is decent on the picture side and the sound is amazing.  The extras do not have a very long list but the content is good.  These are well worth checking out to get some insight on the creation of the movie.  If you enjoyed the first movie and like the ensemble cast, definitely check out this Blu-ray, I recommend it.

Order your copy from Amazon

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About the author

MEDIA JOURNALIST | Michael is a fanatic about all both cinema old and new. He collects anything from 1:6 Scale, 1:12 Scale, and vinyl Collectibles plus Slipcovers and Steelbooks. He loves pop culture, writing, reviewing films & collectibles, and journalism. An avid Batman, The Joker and anything comics junkie, he will also chat it up about pretty much anything. Go ahead and ask...