Starring Jesse Eisenberg. Rated PG

Cinematic sleight of hand tricks can’t obscure the trouble brewing in the more than two hours of Now You See Me 2, which eventually succumbs to fatal sequelitis.

Director Jon M. Chu, the dance-minded guy behind several Step Up movies and Justin Bieber concert docs, was brought in to physicalize series veteran Ed Solomon’s needlessly wordy script. The Horsemen returning to shout exposition at each other include arrogant illusionist Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), wise-ass mentalist Merritt (Woody Harrelson), and charm-free street hustler Jack (Dave Franco, of that Franco family), plus FBI agent/secret leader Dylan (Mark Ruffalo).

That fed-up fed is here lumbered with an origin story placing an absurd amount of importance in a tale featuring Morgan Freeman as God, I mean Thaddeus Bradley. The imprisoned magic debunker is royally pissed at Dylan, as are Michael Caine and series newcomer Daniel Radcliffe, playing a ripped-off rich guy and his tech-obsessed son. Replacing fourth Horseperson Isla Fisher is Lizzy Caplan, who injects needed sass as Lula, a trickster who questions the group’s inherent sexism before fading into the overly decorated wallpaper.

Coming out of hiding to pull off one more big trick, with the flick’s best sequence involving rapid-fire changes of identities, the Horsey set make a sudden diversion to casino-infested Macau, home to a famous magic shop and handy doorway to marketing action comedies in China. This allows some Mandarin-language business from mainland legend Tsai Chin (glimpsed watching old black-and-white footage of herself) and Taiwanese pop sensation Jay Chou. In Macau, Harrelson’s character is handed an even more annoying twin brother, and everyone crashes into fruit stands.

The film’s big finish is, of course, dissected the moment it’s over, and this relentless explication is ultimately as exciting as watching a director going over details in his storyboards for the movie you’ve just seen. That reminds me: Now You See Me 3 has now been announced—just like magic!