This could have been the plot to the Now You See Me sequel, where the crew has to fight piracy, and the secrets to their tricks being sold online.This doesn’t require an illusionist, just some bored teens in a country where piracy reigns supreme, who see a niche they feel needs to be filled. The unfortunate truth is, you can actually steal magic. And no,not in some Disney way where an evil wizard drops from the sky and drains the home you know of all its magic, but there are actual people who build complex tricks, and sell them to performing magicians. If you’ve seen The Prestige, you would have caught a glimpse at this profession, as Hugh Jackman’s magician seeks the ultimate magic trick. For the magicians in The Prestige, their whole jig would have been up if pirates had been around to share their data freely online.

But the concept of pirates stealing from magicians, while in and of itself, is a winning one, it isn’t the whole story, nor is it the most interesting element of Stealing Magic. The sleight of hand here is that it starts to feel a little like an episode of Catfish, as two magic shop owners take justice into their own hands, and decide to track down who is stealing their magic, so they can be reported to the proper authorities.

And this is where stuff starts getting a little weirder, and a little more dangerous.The pirates catch on to the fact that they’ve been had, and start turning the tables, threatening the various magic shop owners involved in the larger story. They don’t like that there is a collusion to figure out who they are, and block them.

But they aren’t done there, and that final step is the best part, which sends us globe trotting, chasing down leads, all in pursuit of who dares to steal magic.Avada Cadabra indeed.

I thought this was terrific and a lot of fun. It reminded me of the Ruby Red Slipper heist doc from last year, but this is better. It plays like an Ocean’s Eleven film, where the mystery gets deeper, and we wonder just who exactly is behind all of this, because when we think we know, we don’t. The whole film is sleight of hand, in many ways, as magicians work to discover, the pirates use their tactics as illusions to distract, and make it harder for them to be found.

This should be an easy Tribeca pickup. I can see this playing broadly, especially to any streamer. It has near universal mass appeal, not quite to warrant a breakout wide release documentary, but one that could easily succeed with a streaming audience having easy access to it. I mean, look at how many starved individuals watched The Crash.

It doesn’t have audio description, which affected my enjoyment a little,as the film takes place in a few countries where English is not the predominant language. However, it didn’t stop me from respecting the game this film actually has. It is vastly entertaining, and a ton of fun. If Stealing Magic fails to make my Top 4 or 10 documentaries, it is only because the world is on fire, and stolen magic seems less important than stolen agency or freedoms.

Documentaries are rarely this fun and pure escapist flair, but somehow Stealing Magic manages to pull it off, without ever needing to pull the rabbit from the hat.

Fresh: 8.9/10