You know millennial nostalgia has reached a dangerous peak when there’s a new “Now You See Me” film 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, appeared in theaters 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.

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

With “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t,” Ruben Fleischer takes over the franchise reins from Jon M. Chu (now preoccupied with “Wicked”), who 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,” with 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 (Jesse 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, 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, though, 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 even really about magic anymore. 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 or redistribution of wealth. 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, it is. Even though the script is laden down 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 material, and the new additions are charming, particularly insouciant scamp Sessa, whose Bosco matches energy with Eisenberg’s smartest-guy-in-the-room arrogance as Atlas.

Fleischer’s signature style is slick, but chintzy, which works here. The first action sequence is incomprehensible, but they get better throughout, and there’s something appropriate for the style of a film about magicians being being shiny but cheap. Most importantly, Fleischer knows that 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 on behalf of magician and audience. “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.

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'NOW YOU SEE ME: NOW YOU DON'T'

2.5 stars (out of 4)

MPA rating: PG-13 (for some strong language, violence and suggestive references)

Running time: 1:52

How to watch: In theaters Nov. 14

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