“Now You See Me” starts with such energy and panache that it’s easy to imagine it becoming a classic. Alas, director Louis Leterrier (“Clash of the Titans,” “The Incredible Hulk”) allows the project to flag as it moves toward its final act. The picture’s flaws, most of which can be pinned on a weak twist ending, are frustrating, but primarily because the setup shows so much potential. 

Revealing secret symbols or transforming a flat plane into a 3-dimensional world, anamorphosis activates a sudden shift or rupture in its impression on the spectator. Whereas perspective seeks to systematize an image of the known world for the benefit of the human eye, anamorphosis “leads the eye slowly through incomprehension and then offers a resolution.”