🪄Now You See Me: Now You Don’t (2025) in Dolby Atmos: All Tricks, No Treats

2 Out of 5 Bags 💰💰

Written by Jonathan Garcia

Now You See Me: Now You Don’t

I was leaving the magic show opening night of “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t” as a long time fan of the franchise and magic lover since a youngin. It was fun seeing the story and cast come together for a similar but new mission. It’s comical (like dry funny lol) and the acting was good. I found the plot fun and creative. This story felt like a pass of the baton from the original Horsemen to our new generation of magicians that we’re introduced to. The audio was probably the worst part of the movie. Not the composition or production but more so the mix and master. There is a sharp and unpleasant harshness in the upper mids that consistently fatigues and distracts us. It relies on the LFE to balance the harshness of the audio with some robust bass frequencies. The Dolby wasn’t as magical as one would hope but there were surprises, let's talk about it!

🎧 Dolby Atmos

Focusing on the immersive magic and not the sonic harshness: the Dolby Atmos wasn’t too bad! The sound track and score are extremely immersive. The strings throughout the film speak eloquently with beautiful placement that fill the theater subtly and dramatically as needed to support the scene. We are often placed in large crowds and the feeling is great! It reminded me of crowds in the recent Bruce Springsteen movie but not quite as realistic as the Boss’s crowds. There are a few scenes where panning doesn’t happen or we don’t hear things moving like bumping into objects or actors walking across the screen and their audio stays center or isn’t supported. There are also environment scenes in the beginning where we are placed exactly in the scene and immersed in the space, but towards the end where we are in very large ambient rooms and spaces, all the audio is strangely stereo. 

🔊 Dynamics & Loudness

This film is loud! The overall dynamic range sounds well compressed & limited. There is no noticeable clipping or distortion. There weren’t too many dramatic dynamic changes at all. Everything was consistently forward and present. The harsh midrange poke the film had wasn’t helping at all to justify the lack of dynamic range. The LFE is pumping but at times feels like we’re missing some sub harmonic energy during hits and big moments. The master felt warm and as if the idea was for everything to fit at a consistent volume. Kind of like when clients ask for it to “pop like the radio”.  Where the idea is to not have a loss of energy at any moment. This to me was a bit detrimental for this film. If there were less of a limiting feeling maybe we would get better feelings emotionally towards the scenes like in transitions and personal moments, allowing us to use our ears and invest actually listening during these moments, than everything always being loud for convenience. I digress. lol.

🎚️LFE

To me, the LFE is the best part of the audio experience. It’s full, robust, well balanced, and enhances the entire experience. 

🎛️ Sonic Texture

Really harsh in the upper mids. The show starts and there is a sharp squeeze in the audio. I was really hoping for that to only be in the intro but it sadly lasted the entirety of the film and continued to grow in harshness. There was a crazy bite the entire time that made it feel uncomfortable for some. It was brought up to me after it finished when several people in my group asked me if I noticed that “pointy” sound throughout the movie, especially during the speaking parts. A sharp, distracting resonance in the mid to mid highs that must’ve slipped through the engineers ears like magic. 

🎬 Favorite Moments

• The Crowd: The first crowd scene was really immersive, placing us in the warehouse watching the magicians with the audience.

• Atlas Appears: When the real Atlas arrives we are immersed with moving synths. Giving us a vibe of his character is what it felt like in that moment. 

• Help Me Ricky Bobby: The music and sound design went hand and glove with the Dolby Atmos during this race scene.

• Buried Alive: We are being buried alive but the orchestra is so satisfying and engulfing us in its beautiful strings and amazing placement in the theater. Being buried alive can’t be that bad if it sounds like this, right?

• The Outro: The outro music had the same energy as the horsemen's final trick! A lot of creative and adventurous panning filled the theater. It was a fun moment.

💡 Final Thoughts

2 Out of 5 Bags 💰💰

Even though the magic was unique and the story and Horsemen hold a special place in all of our hearts. The Dolby Atmos wasn’t as magical as the magicians. The consistent pain while listening and actually having others bring it up wasn’t the best trick to play. As the film grows the immersiveness in the scenes like warehouses, garages and other soundscapes all start to stay stereo and even the placement of actors isn’t being followed as the show ends. Maybe it was crunch time and it needed to be turned in, but these choices were interesting. If you’re a fan of the franchise and story I recommend keeping up with all 8 of the Horsemen! If you’re here for the Dolby Atmos, just watch it in stereo lol

Bonus points: HOW DID YOU KNOW I PICKED THE 4 OF HEARTS ❤️?!?!!? We’re all suckers and the entire theater gasps and you hear laughs and everyone talking to their groups and friends “How did they know that was my card?!”. That was a great way to wrap up the magic. For that, i’d give it an extra bag!! So if you read this far, thank you so so much!!! Now You See Me: Now You Don’t - officially 3 Bags!!! 💰💰💰