veronika vanderberg

You know millennial nostalgia has reached a dangerous peak when there’s a new “Now You See Me” in theaters. The last time we encountered the merry band of Robin Hood prankster magicians known as the Horsemen, it was the Obama era, when “Now You See Me 2,” the sequel to the hit 2013 film, opened in the summer of 2016. Were we ever so young?

Back then, the Horsemen, played by Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco and either Isla Fisher or Lizzy Caplan as the token girl magician, used the principles of magic for altruistic purposes, redistributing wealth and saving the world from various evil tech overlords.

We’re in even worse shape now, so why not do magic about it? It couldn’t hurt and it seems there’s literally nothing else we can do to exert any modicum of control over billionaires who are exacerbating environmental degradation and dangerous technology.

With “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t,” director Ruben Fleischer takes over the franchise reins from Jon M. Chu (now preoccupied with “Wicked”), who himself took over from Louis Leterrier (the screenplay is by Seth Grahame-Smith, Michael Lesslie and Rhett Reese). Some nine years down the line, fresh blood is needed, so “Now You Don’t” plays like “Now You See Me: The New Class,” introducing a trio of budding magicians who take inspiration from the Horsemen.

A reunion show at a Bushwick warehouse turns out to be — you guessed it — an illusion, with a group of young aspiring magicians, June (Ariana Greenblatt), Charlie (Justice Smith) and Bosco (Dominic Sessa), aping the Horsemen’s faces and using clever presentation in order to rob from the rich (corrupt crypto bros) to give to the poor (their fellow broke Gen-Zers). They’re happy to continue their scrappy operation, living in a converted loft in a bagel factory, until an actual Horseman, J. Daniel Atlas (Eisenberg) shows up at their place with an invite in the form of a tarot card, from an entity known as the Eye.

Turns out they’ve got bigger fish to fry: The whale is Veronika Vanderberg (a hilarious Rosamund Pike), a South African diamond heiress with a prize jewel known as the Heart Diamond and a very shady family history. The quest to steal the Heart will take the Horsemen from Antwerp to rural France and then to Abu Dhabi, where they will use their magical abilities to get out of jams, mess with Veronika and ultimately bring justice to the South African communities that have been exploited by diamond mining (naturally). This globe-trotting adventure will also bring together all generations of Horsemen, including former friends and foes, reminding us that even in comparison to big shiny diamonds, the most important natural resource in the world is friendship.

The funny thing about the “Now You See Me” movies, which are delightfully silly, frothy and ultimately quite stupid (in the best way), is that they’re not really about magic. They’re about puzzles and rubber masks and whipping playing cards through the air and escape rooms. But it’s unclear if anything that they do is actually magic. Sure, there are fantastical illusions (some clearly CGI-enhanced) and Henley (Fisher) is a master of escapology, but half the time, the Horsemen are merely setting up elaborate ruses and then their “show” consists of explaining how they tricked one person, which leads to that person’s arrest. Is that magic? It’s misdirection and lying and showmanship on an internationally grand scale, but it’s more “Mission: Impossible” than David Copperfield. It’s like if Ethan Hunt got on stage and explained everything he did to an adoring crowd before giving them all a monetary gift, Oprah-style.

If the Horsemen say it’s magic, fine. Even though the script is laden with expository dialogue — the amount of times they stand in a circle and babble lore at each other is unconscionable — there’s a fleetness to the pacing and the new additions are charming, particularly insouciant scamp Sessa, whose Bosco matches energy with Eisenberg’s smartest-guy-in-the-room arrogance.

Fleischer’s signature style is slick but chintzy, which works here. (There’s something appropriate for the style of a film about magicians being being shiny but cheap.) The first action sequence is incomprehensible, but they get better throughout. Most importantly, Fleischer knows there’s a winking element when it comes to performing or enjoying magic. It’s campy, it’s cheesy, it’s way more fun than you expect it to be, but there’s a knowingness to the whole endeavor. “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t” is the kind of lightweight, harmless and ephemeral entertainment that allows us to be escape artists from reality for a minute, so go ahead and indulge.

Katie Walsh is a Tribune News Service film critic.