secret agency – Movies of the Soul

Vampire Owl: The magic has returned to their world after the grand fall?

Vampire Bat: Humans have always been people of black magic.

Vampire Owl: Yes, I remember that all necromancers were humans coming out of nowhere.

Vampire Bat: Even the witches of our realm were once humans.

Vampire Owl: Well, witches were never one among us and the realm. And now, they have no way home.

Vampire Bat: The realm was magically created to separate our people from them.

Vampire Owl: Yet, the vampire elders were always part of the realm towards infinity.

Vampire Bat: Vampire Elders are magically maintained beyond their immortality. We know what they do.

Vampire Owl: Immortality is still not magic, for it is regular part of life.

Vampire Bat: The definition of magic would vary according to species.

[Gets a paneer puffs and three cups of Yercaud tea].

What is the movie about? :: Years after the Horsemen’s last grand performance, three young friends, Charlie Gees (Dominic Sessa), Bosco LeRoy (Dominic Sessa) and June Rouclere (Ariana Greenblatt), impersonate the Horsemen with the help of deepfakes and holograms to take a corrupt cryptocurrency exchange owner’s money and put it in the bank accounts of different people who are in need for the same. They are approached by J Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg) in the real form representing the Horsemen. Daniel reveals to them that he was sent by the Eye, a secret society of magicians, through a tarot card to recruit them for a mission to steal the Heart Diamond from Veronika Vanderberg (Rosamund Pike), the head of a South African diamond company formed by her late father, and is secretly associated with providing money laundering services for criminals. At the same time, Veronika receives a phone call from a mysterious man who threatens to expose her crimes unless she gives the diamond to him.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: At a private party in Antwerp, Belgium, where the Diamond is being displayed, the four execute a heist to steal the Diamond. They manage to sneak in there in different forms, including that of personal photographer, makeup woman and helper. They seem to have a perfect plan which nobody suspects and manage to get the diamond, but Veronika’s personal security and the police almost catch them when the three other Horsemen, Jack Wilder (Dave Franco), Henley Reeves (Isha Fisher) and Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson) arrive to help, after receiving tarot cards from the Eye. The Horsemen are surprised with the same, because their leader Dylan Shrike (Mark Ruffalo) is imprisoned in a Russian jail, and the team had fallen apart, with no more mission assigned to them in a long time. But they are happy to see each other, even with no real happiness about the youngsters being added to the team without any proper briefing or induction.

And what more is to follow here as there is no shortage of troubles around? :: The group decides to get together as their objectives seem to align well. These tarot cards, when placed together, lead the group to a mansion in France, where they are greeted by friend of the Horsemen Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman), who is also said to have been contacted by the Eye. There, they are also able to find Veronika’s client list and enough evidence of her illegal activities from there, and also the details of a past which goes a long way back. At the same time, Veronica leads the police there, who raid the building, forcing the group to split up and avoid capture. Merritt, Jack and June are caught, but Charlie, Bosco, Daniel and Henley escape through a tunnel. As Thaddeus is fatally shot while fleeing, they are forced to leave him behind upon his insistence. Now Veronica will dictate terms with captured members of the gang with her. But with someone else also on her tail through the mobile phone, can she manage to outsmart the horsemen, as everything seems to be set to get to a final showdown in Abu Dhabi?

The defence of Now You See Me: Now You Don’t :: The movie goes on well with its magical sequences which nicely adds to the overall beauty of the world here. There is a certain beauty on the screen that never leaves us, and the magical effects are nothing less than classic. The chemistry between the main performers is extended, while Rosamund Pike becomes a fine antagonist – not the kind of role in which we see her that much. The new generation of magicians are really good, especially Ariana Greenblatt who blends in so well at all moments. The old team of Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco and Isla Fisher do not seem to have lost the strength at any moment, even though Melanie Laurent remains the one person I have always missed in these newer movies. The fast-paced fun continues, and we feel the energy while enjoying the light tones that exist around here. There is some elevation of the proceedings from the previous movie too. Well, the magical world is not easy to work with in a third movie of a series, but this one manages that nicely.

The claws of flaw :: There are some unbelievable situations that also get added here and there, with some of the twists not really working with the willing suspension of disbelief. The explanation of magic does not go that well here, and we are not that much into them, with the strength of the world not bringing a magical power that goes beyond the usual. As these are all about magic, the number of options was always very high, but this does not go on to make the best use of these. One can also feel that the movie has too many characters, and balancing between them has been difficult throughout the run, something which could have been easily managed by not introducing the old characters again until a long time passed. The older ones are also given that much importance as one would expect them to have. The movie has taken too much time to bring this third movie, and due to the same, the expectations were high, and with not that much of a big release as the first two movies, this one seems to have come with not that much of a hype. A little bit of a dark side would have also been nice, even with that overall light tone.

How it finishes :: Not as good as the first Now You See Me, but better than Now You See Me 2, this one manages to keep the world alive among movies which have been bringing universes out of nowhere in a busy world. There is also a fine setup for a next movie which could make the situation bigger, as the third one never really made the stakes higher. Maybe, the fourth movie will have some real danger and an impossible mission which needs everyone to go beyond their known limits; but we can only expect the same and do nothing more than keeping on waiting. The fans of the series will be happy enough to have this one around. Having wizards of Oz in the modern world never hurts, and would only keep being interesting against all odds. Therefore, this world is never out of scope, with the heist genre always having a say among all categories. In a world which has only hopelessness and despair, having some magic never hurts, with the fantasy no longer working that well – maybe, we are too old to listen to the beauty of fairy-tale, and this modern magic sometimes serves the hope.

Release date: 14th November 2025
Running time: 122 minutes
Directed by: Ruben Fleischer
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher, Justice Smith, Dominic Sessa, Ariana Greenblatt, Rosamund Pike, Morgan Freeman

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

<<< Click here to go to the biggest movie of last year.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Vampire Owl: So, we are now looking at advanced AI dolls.

Vampire Bat: Vampires do not need artificial intelligence at all.

Vampire Owl: Dr. Frankenstein has been trying to bring AI to vampire world.

Vampire Bat: Well, we are going without science, for we have magic here.

Vampire Owl: The advertisements for AI seem to suggest otherwise.

Vampire Bat: Mr. Frankenstein will keep adding absurd things to the same.

Vampire Owl: He is the realm’s most popular doctor and scientist.

Vampire Bat: He is the biggest pseudo-doctor and pseudo-scientist.

Vampire Owl: Nobody else has ever created a human being through science.

Vampire Bat: It was the raising of the dead. We have risen, and so have the zombies along with all those skeletons brought to life by necromancers and dark witches.

[Gets a parippu vada and three cups of Wayanad tea].

What is the movie about? :: At a time when people are protesting about the unregulated use of Artificial Intelligence in a world having machines exercising too much control, AMELIA (Ivanna Sakhno) aka Autonomous Military Engagement Logistics & Infiltration Android) is the latest robot created from M3GAN’s original design, and is declared safe for operations as a military unit. It is set to be used for high profile missions of the government including well-targeted assassination of enemies of the state. Confident about this achievement, the United States Army colonel Sattler (Timm Sharp), head of a top-secret branch of the Pentagon, arranges a demonstration. But during her mission, AMELIA reveals to Sattler that she is self-aware and manages to escape from his control. At the same time, Gemma (Allison Williams) who had created M3GAN (Amie Donald) has now become an author. She had changed her views after an artificially intelligent doll who had developed an advanced level of self-awareness and became overprotective to her human companion, leading to the need to deactivate her as part of an unexpected turn of events.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Gemma has been warning people against the dependence on technology, starting from children using smartphones, comparing it to drug addiction or sometimes saying that both are the same. She inspires an AI regulation bill and even makes some parents take away mobile phones from their children. Sharing the same ideas leads her to have a partnership with cybersecurity expert Christian (Aristotle Athari), and along with him, she goes on working with an experimental robotic exoskeleton with former workmates Cole (Brian Jordan Alvarez) and Tess (Jen Van Epps). She still lives with her niece Cady (Violet McGraw), who is very interested in computer science despite Gemma wishing that she would do something not involving much technology, like playing soccer. Gemma turns down an offer from corrupted billionaire Alton Appleton (Jemaine Clement) to work for him, but soon has FBI after her, and maybe even AMELIA who has been killing those who were responsible for creating her. This might be bigger than she thinks.

The defence of M3GAN 2.0 :: As the second movie of the series, this one gets more into action and tries to be more entertaining than the previous as far as the common audience is concerned. The action sequences are really good, and they are also never overdone even when there is a chance to go down to the ridiculous. There is also the possible end-of-the-world situation which makes the whole thing even more interesting. The emotional connection works really well, and the final sequences are really good, with a classic ending. There are so many emotional moments, and focus is also there on self-sacrifice and understanding of the other. The CGI has been nicely worked out, and some fine locations have been created, both within and also outside. Then there is the humour that comes out of nowhere and scores so well. The contemporary concerns about Artificial Intelligence, negative effects of science, technology misuse and corporate power all get a chance to be present here. The talk about the mobile misuse among children is relevant to the core, and the idea of bad parenting is relevant for all times.

Positives and negatives :: The movie could have developed further on the premise. The deviation from the original film with the style might not impress the fans of that particular film. The feeling that movie has chosen action instead of the creepy horror elements might not be satisfying to everyone. But the fact that it has deviated without missing its core or messing up things is to be remembered here. There is the feeling that Ivanna Sakhno was not given that focus which she deserved, as she is that android that needed a terminator-ish introduction. This is one android that has raised the stakes even above the original. The movie does have some doubt if it is to support or be against Artificial Intelligence, and seems to end up with a safe mode. One might feel that there could have been some nice scares with the available elements, and there could have also been so much more to talk about related to the themes. The beginning stages of the movie had also taken a little bit too much time to get going. When it starts to get going, it goes strong.

The performers of the soul :: Allison Williams leads the list of performers and manages to be the one who makes the difference. She shines as the aunty who wishes to be the mother to her niece as much as the scientist that we have already seen. Amie Donald’s android continues to impress us, and there seems to be always more to the technology than what meets the eye. Ivanna Sakhno’s android is also lovely, but does not get enough like the lady terminator of the third instalment of that “machine from future” managed. She could have had more to do, and more classic action, but gets limited – there is no Ex Machina-kind of crisis and classic moments added here either. Violet McGraw as Cady also adds more in this journey which has shifted to science fiction action. She would do even better with an extension of this world with another sequel in collaboration with the AI characters. Brian Jordan Alvarez and Jen Van Epps support well and even adds some humour around here. Aristotle Athari and Jemaine Clement have something extra to add, while Timm Sharp does well when he is around.

How it finishes :: The movie gets much more into action science fiction compared to the earlier film, as the idea itself had suggested, and therefore would appeal more to the usual audience. Those who enjoyed the first movie would continue to love the franchise with this one too. Moving from horror-thriller to action-thriller, this one also works, particularly in its own way. It becomes a classic holiday blockbuster with a twist, as the thrills often come out of nowhere and some suspense also comes all of a sudden. In the end, you will ask yourself about the role of technology in your life and how Artificial Intelligence would affect your life. Next time, when you are going through some Artificial Intelligence, you will wonder about this particular flick. This movie could inspire more of similar works, as Artificial Intelligence always require our attention, and a future with a robotic influence is not that far away. Let us have more of similar robots that will catch our attention related to the idea and expanding them.

Release date: 27th June 2025
Running time: 120 minutes
Directed by: Gerard Johnstone
Starring: Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Ivanna Sakhno, Jemaine Clement, Amie Donald, Jenna Davis, Brian Jordan Alvarez, Jen Van Epps, Aristotle Athari, Timm Sharp