The Horsemen band together once again after years apart to train a new generation of magic criminals and pull off a seemingly impossible heist.

Devoid of the fugitive thrills, star charisma, and moral ambiguity that made the first film remotely a success, this movie turns its protagonists into superheroes with plot conveniences at their disposal, and none of the big names in the cast really get to shine their personalities, with every character feeling empty, with the exceptions of those played by Dominic Sessa, Ariana Greenblatt, and Morgan Freeman. Rosamund Pike is given truly awful material to work with and a very odd South African accent.

The movie struggles to answer the question of, why this sequel so many years later? Why this heist? Why this villain? The stakes feel rather low for a third film, and when the script finally comes around to attempting satisfying responses to these questions, you’re left wishing you hadn’t heard them. The movie isn’t even quite able to tell us why we should be so impressed by these magicians, and if what they’re doing really has any meaning at all besides prestige. Things happen because the story begs them to, but a turn in the final act also comes in and makes any development the whole thing feel null and void, anyway. The action ranges from fine to filled with glaring gaps in logic, and even when the movie begs you to turn off your brain and enjoy some of the fights and humor, there’s a real lack of excitement and very irritating script directions in the way of that.

Like the Horsemen’s magic tricks, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t feels forcefully manufactured for a wide audience. If you enjoyed both the previous films, this one is a lot more of the same, but it seriously fails to justify its existence besides some big visuals and sets, even with all the star power and energy at the table.