Four magicians have one thing in common – they're shysters. Successfully trading on public gullibility to turn a buck, they attract the interest of an anonymous sponsor who sets them up with a Vegas-styled gig of a lifetime. As The Four Horsemen they get to play Robin Hood, enjoy national notoriety and win the gun-toting scorn of the FBI. Could their maker be the mysterious financier (Michael Caine) or populist debunker (Morgan Freeman)? Sit back and observe, for the closer you look, the less you'll see.

Built with enough Oscar power to start their own awards (15 nominations between them), the stellar cast makes Now You See Me look like Oceans 13 with a wand. Which, for the most part, it is. While unreservedly silly, this ultra-stylised caper movie is surprisingly entertaining even when events wind past 11 on the ridiculous-o-meter. The relative success is thanks largely to director Louis Leterrier (The Hulk) who proves adept at slight of hand – there are moments you'd be forgiven for thinking the story has something to say behind it's flashing lights and hey-presto presentation. It doesn't. This is as meaningful as an episode of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

The trick is Leterrier's capacity for keeping audiences captivated by the three-act shenanigans as logic goes out the window, money pours from the sky and Ruffalo's ruffled FBI agent tries to stop The Horseman in their tracks. It's Danny Boyle lite and in truth, Leterrier never pretends otherwise as he corrals us toward an ending of impossible production – it's like the Olympics Opening and New Years Eve all rolled into one.

Then the reveal which astute viewers would have seen coming because Freeman keeps telling you how. Despite this pace-unravelling repetition, his is good advice for once the initial buzz of working out who's playing who begins to dissipate like a puff of magical blue smoke, we're left with a fistful of absurdity. But bemoaning B-movie sensibilities is like complaining about commercial television's slick commerciality. The trick is to have fun, and not watch too closely.

// COLIN FRASER

Previewed at Sony Theatrette, 6 June 2013