144 million redistribution - Now You See Me (2013) Discussion

[–] Outstandingness 8 years ago

I don't think you missed anything, it was simply absurd.

I can understand that maybe the secret society could track down local hurricane katrina survivors, but to further the complication:

- they'd have to find out who exactly who filed claims through Tressler Insurance.

- many Katrina survivors/claimants moved away from new Orleans

- like you said, they'd then have to find all their bank account numbers

- they'd not only need account numbers, but they'd need to hack all their accounts at the same time (whilst on stage no less) so they could deposit money

- they'd have to somehow fill the entire audience with katrina survivors who were also denied help from Tressler Insurance

- who would they select? why that group of audience members? what about other "victims" who weren't at the show? I guess they're out of luck?

- don't even get me started on the numbers changing on the check because a light touched it

- Since they admitted on stage to fraud, I'm pretty sure no one could keep any money. It would be a tease. LOOK YOUR BANK ACCOUNTS ARE FULL! WEEEEE!... sorry you don't actually get to keep it. Neat trick tho huh? Tee Hee

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One or two leaps in logic are fine in a movie, but this movie just went further and further down a tangential rabbit hole of absurdity.

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[–] ChristopherSolomon 8 years ago

- Since they admitted on stage to fraud, I'm pretty sure no one could keep any money. It would be a tease. LOOK YOUR BANK ACCOUNTS ARE FULL! WEEEEE!... sorry you don't actually get to keep it. Neat trick tho huh? Tee Hee

This was the thing which I didn't get. It's all stolen funds and easily traceable, they would have to give it all back...

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[–] Outstandingness 8 years ago

One of the weird things is that I'm pretty sure all the money from all the tricks would have to be returned.

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[–] TheBeardedWonder 8 years ago

They explain earlier that they know the French audience member's bank account number by checking his credit card info that he gives the hotel/box office when he paid for the tickets. They use the same method later I believe. It's silly to think EVERY audience member would use that and zero would ever pay with cash, but it's a silly summer movie anyway so who cares.

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[–] Outstandingness 8 years ago

How did they get his credit card? How did they steal the credit cards for each audience member? It's preposterous. I don't think knowing someone's credit card number gives access to a bank account, especially a large group of people. I know it's just a movie, but how can anyone enjoy a movie that insults your intelligence?

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[–] TheBeardedWonder 8 years ago

I know great white sharks don't follow people and attack them, doesn't stop me from enjoying jaws. I know little green creatures and swords made of light don't exist, but people still like star wars.

More seriously though, I explained how they know credit card numbers: when the person pays for the ticket to the show (or hotel room for the night if the show is at one) - they're getting them from the company. Legally or illegally isn't shown, but that's how.

'Get yourself a real dog. Any dog under 50 lbs is a cat and cats are pointless' - Ron Swanson

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[–] Outstandingness 8 years ago

More seriously though, I explained how they know credit card numbers: when the person pays for the ticket to the show (or hotel room for the night if the show is at one) - they're getting them from the company. Legally or illegally isn't shown, but that's how.

so the entire show hinged on him paying for the show or his hotel room with his CC? That's risky considering, aside from the impossibility of 'influencing him to go to Vegas', it's possible he could've used other ways to pay, or he could've showed up in Vegas at the last minute, forcing the ninja CC hackers to jump into motion and get the CC numbers then somehow get into corresponding bank accounts. By the way, how exactly does having someone's credit card give them access to a bank account? I can't even get my bank account number from the bank account's website, much less a credit card. They only show the last 4 digits.

and as for this

I know great white sharks don't follow people and attack them, doesn't stop me from enjoying jaws. I know little green creatures and swords made of light don't exist, but people still like star wars.

this is just poor logic on your part. Star Wars takes place in a fantasy world, it's not pretending to be realistic. NYSM takes place on earth and postures itself on being incredibly clever. The movie is trying to show how smart they are and how they're always one step ahead of the cops, so it's necessary to prove that to the audience. It's horrible filmmaking to just explain it with half baked logic.

Yes I'm pretty sure there is such a thing as shark attacks, it's not common in Massachusetts but it's not impossible. It's necessary to enjoy the movie. The original shark in Jaws didn't stalk anyone, it just hunted for food. The stalking shark was in part 4 I think, and that movie was unanimously panned for it's stupidity. If Jaws were NYSM level preposterous, it would have the mayor of the small town sitting inside the shark driving it around and attacking swimmers as revenge for losing his job as a life guard 40 years prior.

I know suspension of disbelief is a thing for movies, but NYSM never makes sense on any level. It doesn't require suspension of disbelief it requires the absence of any brain material whatsoever in the viewer. That's insulting considering it is so smug.

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[–] darkavenger77 8 years ago

They explain earlier that they know the French audience member's bank account number by checking his credit card info that he gives the hotel/box office when he paid for the tickets. They use the same method later I believe.

Impossible. True credit (not debit) cards are not affiliated with bank accounts. Debit cards are affiliated with bank accounts, but the account number is not on the card. To pull this off assuming everyone used a debit card would require weeks of hacking with multiple hackers.

Ignoring politics doesn't mean politics will ignore you.
-Pericles paraphrased in <100 characters

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[–] CptPtnia 7 years ago

It felt to me that the tickets may have been distributed via a lottery system, since it was such a hot ticket to get. By doing that, they could pick and choose who was in the audience, and base it on who they could get information on.

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[–] darkavenger77 8 years ago

More plot holes with this scene:
Banks use more than two security questions. They can include a city where you lived, a street where you lived, or any number of other questions. These questions are selected by the client. They'd literally have to do this hundreds of times so as to distribute the money.

How many people know their bank balance to the dollar?

That many cellphones at one location on secure servers (as needed for banking) would crash the system.

Ignoring politics doesn't mean politics will ignore you.
-Pericles paraphrased in <100 characters

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[–] mjohnston-30484 8 years ago

ACTUALLY, they don't need anything more than the audience members bank account numbers and branch numbers. Anyone can DEPOSIT money into your account, it's withdrawing it that is limited to you alone. Trust me, I worked as a property manager for years, depositing tenants rent into landlords accounts with no more information than the account number I was putting it in.

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[–] darkavenger77 8 years ago

ACTUALLY, they don't need anything more than the audience members bank account numbers and branch numbers.

I think you mean account and routing transit numbers, which are specific to institutions, not branches.

This still would not account for how the account numbers were obtained from either debit or credit cards. Had anyone paid by check, then that would be feasible since the account number is on the check. Of course, few people use checks these days.

Ignoring politics doesn't mean politics will ignore you.
-Pericles paraphrased in <100 characters

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[–] mjohnston-30484 8 years ago

There are a lot of discrepancies in the movie, for sure, but I don't think this is really one of them. Yes, transit number, my bad. Either way, that information isn't hard to obtain, really, if you have the right resources (which they imply that they do). Banks aren't too protective with that particular information since with it, funding is a one way street. You can't take money out with that info alone, but that's not what they were trying to do.

For the record, I really liked the movie. I was able to ignore the several discrepancies simply because it WAS well written (sure, you can debate that) and especially performed (much harder to debate).

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[–] Lost_Highway 8 years ago

Think about. How did they get the bank account details of the audience....they were all clients of the same insurance company. Once you have hacked the company you get the details.
No need to hack every person individually when they will all be in the same database.

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[–] cathy1500-294-285224 8 years ago

Also put in the equation that an FBI agent was behind all this hell bent on taking revenge.

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[–] Outstandingness 8 years ago

I wonder if people under financial stress ever change/close bank accounts

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[–] chas437 7 years ago

This is the sort of fanciful nonsense that appeals to low minded people, presumably the target audience for this piece of garbage.

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[–] MovieManCin2 (26342) 7 years ago

Yes, that was absurd. It would be impossible to pull that off. Still enjoyed the movie though.

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[–] Strannger (2007) 7 years ago

Yeah it was great for what it was. I was still waiting on of they were really magical or great magicians

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