‘LAW & ORDER TORONTO: CRIMINAL INTENT’ ON CW NETWORK

No matter where the “Law & Order” franchise lands, even in Canada, the one familiar constant is the voice of the narrator that should trigger memories of other iterations.

   

Indeed, for the opening narration of “Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent,” a Canadian production based on the American franchise created by Dick Wolf, the voice of Steven Kirnkilton remains instantly recognizable.
   
“In Toronto’s war on crime, the worst offenders are pursued by the detectives of the Specialized Criminal Investigations Unit. These are their stories,” intones the narrator, whose imposing tone suggests a satisfying police procedural is on offer. 
   
The good news is that the Canadian series is now running on the CW Network, beginning with the first season that has already been eclipsed by the second season enjoyed by our neighbors to the north.
   
The cast is primarily Canadian, with the notable exception of British-born actress Karen Robinson in one of the key roles as Inspector Vivienne Holness, to whom the two main detectives report their ongoing investigations.
   
Like the original, starring detectives in the New York-based “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” portrayed by Vincent D’Onofrio and Kathryn Erbe, Aden Young and Kathleen Munroe make a great team as Detective Sergeants Henry Graff and Frankie Bateman, respectively.
   
The fourth central character, Deputy Crown Attorney Theo Forrester (K.C. Collins), brings authenticity to the role that in the United States would be that of an Assistant District Attorney.
  
Showing great promise for the series, the first episode focuses on shady crypto investor Daniel (Ali Kazmi), recently married to trophy wife Sophie (Amber Goldfarb), entertaining clients on his private yacht, only to fall off the side of his boat and later be found washed ashore.
   
Working together with good chemistry, Detectives Graff and Bateman start their probe into the mysterious death, unearthing the possibility that Daniel stole hundreds of millions of client money, leaving Sophie in a precarious spot when she becomes the victim of a hit-and-run accident that is hardly coincidental.
   
Graff and Bateman play off each other nicely, with the former proving to be quirky with his endless knowledge of art, literature, and cultural issues, while the latter is more balanced and direct in questioning.
   
That Graff has infinite familiarity with fine art is amusing when, during a visit to Sophie’s home, he informs her that a painting hanging upside-down is by a French artist no one has probably heard of.
   
The fan base for “Law & Order” series is so strong that it may come as a surprise if the Canadian version fails to get traction in the United States. The “Toronto” edition merits more than a look; it’s a winner that should run for many seasons.

‘NOW YOU SEE ME: NOW YOU DON’T’ Rated PG-13

A dozen years have passed since the original “Now You See Me” brought a team of illusionists known as the Four Horsemen working their magic to commit heists during a performance, drawing the attention of an FBI agent and Interpol detective.
   
My memory has faded on the 2013 film and its first sequel only three years later. The Four Horsemen are a little older now, but maybe not much wiser, since they cannot resist their Robin Hood impulse to fleece the well-connected.
   
The group leader is J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), backed up by the exuberant card shark Jack Wilder (Dave Franco) and Isla Fisher’s Henley Reeves, an escape artist who returns after an absence during the second film. 
   
Woody Harrelson’s Merritt McKinney, a mentalist who appears to be either stoned or missing a few cells, is back. Rounding out the gang is Lizzy Caplan’s Lula, and thus, unless it’s magician’s misdirection, it looks like the group is really the Five Horsemen.
   
Well, no matter, because the group expands with a younger generation of three social activist illusionists. Feisty June (Ariana Greenblatt), Bosco (Dominic Sessa), and Charlie (Justice Smith), draw attention for their antics at a show to swindle and redistribute an obnoxious crypto huckster’s bank accounts.
   
When the Gen-Z magicians team up with the Horsemen, the action gets rolling with a grand design to heist a diamond larger than a baseball from the wicked Veronika Vanderberg (Rosamund Pike), a rapacious, unctuous diamond heir from South Africa. 
   
A true villain, Veronika partners with drug traffickers and war criminals to launder money for their criminal enterprises. Naturally, the group can’t resist the challenge of stealing what is most precious, to say nothing of boosting one of her race cars for a high-speed joyride. 
   
The biggest mystery of this third “Now You See Me” is what possessed the creative team to generate another sequel after nearly a decade. Was there a push from a fanbase to unleash a budding franchise? If a fourth film is forthcoming, maybe the answer was in the affirmative. 
  
“Now You See 3” does have its moments of awe and excitement, but it may prove to be forgettable as early as the next day.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.