Arthur Tressler courtesy of http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2073536256/ch0383634
Now You See Me was released May 31 2013, and it reveals the story of a group known as The Four Horsemen. They are four illusionists who in order to gain access to a secret organization, known as “The Eye”, begin to commit various heists. The first of which involves robbing a bank in Paris from their performance in Las Vegas. Through their highly intricate illusion they manage to pull off the heist and the money rains down into the crowd as a “gift”. This attracts the attention of the FBI and Interpol, but seeing as the four man team, made up of J. Daniel Atlas, Henley Reeves, Jack Wilder, and Merritt McKinney, did not physically rob the French bank nothing can be proved. The Four Horsemen proceed to their next performance in New Orleans where they promptly steal approximately $140 million from the bank account of their benefactor Arthur Tressler. This money was given to the audience members who were people that Tressler’s insurance company had either denied or given out reduced claims. The FBI attempts to capture the Four Horseman once again, but due to a clever trick they manage to escape with the help of brainwashed audience members and their various other illusions. The final trick involves the theft of a safe and the disbursement of its contents to a crowd of people. However, the money is fake and the real money is found inside of the car of a man named Thaddeus Bradley who was hired to help capture the Four Horsemen.
From left: Henley Reeves, J. Daniel Atlas, Merritt McKinney, and Jack Wilder courtesy of: http://clclt.com/charlotte/now-you-see-me-nothing-up-its-sleeve/Content?oid=3103674
The group’s crimes seem to have no noble inclinations, but during their second performance they reveal that all the money they have stolen is in fact money the people should have received anyways. They were simply stealing the people’s money back from the rich and returning it to them. This is still considered a crime, but it has noble intentions that turn the once thieves in noble thieves. They are heroes of the common people. Tressler and the FBI chase them because Tressler was stolen from, and the FBI has justice to uphold, but the Four Horsemen are able to elude their pursuers and escape justice. However, the average person does not consider them thieves because they are doing the public a justice by returning their money. The group’s motive for committing the crimes arises from their desire to get into the secret organization known as “The Eye”, but they are still noble because they are stealing for the people.
The FBI and Interpol agents in charge of the “Four Horsemen” case courtesy of http://suffolkvoice.net/2013/06/09/now-you-see-me-review/
The Four Horsemen are constantly on the run form the FBI and Interpol, and because of this they stay in a dingy apartment after their second heist that brings their crimes out into the open. They are found and they have to flee again, but their crimes make it impossible for them to return to normal places in society. While they may be heroes of the people, they are enemies of the state. Because of this they have to live in less than desirable places in order to elude the police and escape imprisonment for their crimes. The Four Horsemen also offer a resistance to authority because they can elude the FBI so well. They remain two steps ahead of the FBI the entire movie, and while capture is possible it never seems that great of a risk because of the group’s intricate plans and ability to think two steps ahead of the FBI. The Four Horsemen also offer an element of resistance because they go up against an insurance corporation in order to help those wronged by the corporation. Normally four people could not do much to an entire corporation, but these four illusionists are able to win against all odds and successfully steal from the company.
J. Daniel Atlas in an FBI interrogation room courtesy of: http://www.nerdist.com/2013/05/now-you-see-mes-first-4-minutes-magic-piranhas-a-heist/
The movie has an interesting plot dynamic that establishes the Four Horsemen as a tool for revenge. There is in fact a fifth horseman who establishes the entire plan as well as giving the team the means to carry it out. His desire is to obtain revenge on Bradley for ruining his father’s career and stealing his life away from him. His goal is to seek revenge upon a single man, but his plan is multi-faceted. Tressler was the insurance company that refused to pay the fifth horseman’s family the insurance money when his father passed, and the bank the Four Horseman rob in the opening heist is the bank the note was carried through. Each of the jobs carried out by the Horsemen allow for their mysterious and silent benefactor to obtain revenge upon his enemies. He is the mastermind behind the schemes who seeks nothing but revenge, but in order to obtain his revenge he allows his plans to benefit the general public who has also been wronged by the same people who wronged him.
The Four Horsemen offer a more traditional look at the noble thief. They do have their own agenda involve in their crimes, but they are still stealing from the rich to give back to the poor. They closely resemble the antics of Robin Hood and his merry men. The only difference is that they have something to gain from completing their heists, whereas Robin Hood did it strictly to help the people. However, the Four Horsemen’s mission is not any less noble because of that. They were four separate illusionists who would never consider working together, but when offered a chance to gain access to a secret organization they were willing to put their differences aside and become a team to help the people in order to obtain something for themselves.
Epic Heroism for the 21st Century: a Multimedia Web Resource 