MOVIES Ruffalo gets in on the action
Hulk actor finally uses his fists in Now You See Me 2
It would be natural to assume that playing the fist-pounding Hulk in the Avengers movies would give Mark Ruffalo all kinds of opportunities to do movie fight scenes. That would be the case if Hulk wasn’t a computer-generated creation.
So, instead of a movie with costume heroes fighting intergalactic bad guys, it is a movie about a group of magicians who use their skills to fight evil where Ruffalo finally gets to throw some punches. He’s very proud of his long fight scene in Now You See Me 2.
“We shot the fight scene in a day and a half, but we rehearsed it a lot. It’s kind of a tough fight scene because of the way it has to work and I was worried it would look cheesy,” Ruffalo said. “But I started working with the stuntmen and they were the best.”
The scene takes place in a tight marketplace where Ruffalo’s character, Dylan Rhodes, goes all Jackie Chan by using anything as a weapon. Because the character has a background in magic, there are also some “now you see me, now I hit you” moments.
Ruffalo credits director Jon M. Chu for beautiful choreography filmed in a style that is specific but imaginative.
The fight wraps up a key scene in the sequel to the 2013 movie about a group of magicians, known as the Horsemen, who use magic to commit heists on an Ocean’s 11 level. Along with Ruffalo, Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson and Dave Franco return. They are joined by Lizzy Caplan, who plays the newest member of the team.
The most-wanted magicians come out of hiding for an attempt to stop the public from having to deal with a questionable new electronic device. They end with a battle against some familiar faces.
Ruffalo’s role has dramatically changed from the original film, in which it was revealed that the FBI agent, who was born into the world of magic, was actually a Horseman. The sequel offers an extended look into his past.
“Exploring his history seemed to be the only place to go,” Ruffalo said. “His history gives a counterweight to the fun heist stuff, which is really exciting and good. But the history stuff gives the film heart.”
As Rhodes goes from what seemed like a bumbling FBI agent in the original film to the magic team leader, it becomes clear that the magnitude of the latest job is too big to handle, especially because Rhodes is still dealing with the emotional baggage of seeing his father die decades ago.
The plot brings Rhodes and the man he sent to jail, magic debunker Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman), together. Their relationship is an uneasy one since Rhodes needs Bradley’s knowledge and Bradley wants revenge for his false imprisonment.
Ruffalo said in the beginning, he was nervous about working with Freeman, who has carved out a career for himself that most actors envy.
“And he’s God,” Ruffalo said, referring to Freeman’s role in Bruce Almighty. “And, he’s a cinema god. Over the course of time, getting to work with him, I found Morgan to be a great kind of man and the coolest man in the world. He is so well possessed and knows who he is and what he’s doing. He blessed me in a way by letting me in to see how he works.”
Ruffalo already has a strong foundation. He’s collected three Oscar nominations (Freeman has five) for his work in The Kids Are All Right, Foxcatcher and Spotlight. And he has starred in massive box office hits such as The Avengers.
Chu was happy to have Ruffalo in the sequel, calling him “the kindest, most talented person.”