Review: "Fantastic Beasts and the Crimes of Grindelwald"

This review would have commenced very differently had I written it right after watching the movie. I'm a very enthusiastic Potterhead and I have missed the Harry Potter Universe severely over the last few years. Warner Bros could have thrown a half-bad animated feature on my face and I would still have called it the Movie of the Year. I understand those aren't proper and professional review tactics but I suppose these nuances are bound to occur when one tries to pursue sound-minded professions like that of a movie critic while they are too young. The child in me loved this movie to the moon and back, but that isn't where we end things. One needs a sound and serious mind to be able to analyze a work of art accurately. Now that I am out of my Potterhead aura and my Griffindor Quidditch team tshirt, I believe I can review this movie the way it is supposed to be done.

Let's get this out of the way first. This isn't a bad movie in any sense of the word. However, that is the highest compliment that it is capable of - "It wasn't a bad movie".

The plot revolves around a plethora of characters trying to find/capture Credence, the Obscurial from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Jacob, Newt's No-Maj situational friend from the previous installment is also in this movie for reasons I don't want to spoil for you since most of you probably haven't been able to watch the movie yet since there have been very few screenings so far and the official release date is tomorrow. There is some additional romantic tension between Newt and Tina too, which honestly speaking, I didn't care a lot about.

The highlight of the movie is Grindelwald. And they nailed it with Grindelwald. Johnny Depp is phenomenal as the dark wizard. He's evil but not hate-worthy, much like Voldemort. 

Jude Law as Dumbledore is wondrous and very satisfactory. His portrayal of the character is exactly what I had always imagined a young Dumbledore would be like. 

We also get to see Hogwarts which was a teary moment for me. Its showed off in all its glory and Dumbledore is found to be teaching Defense against the Dark Arts which is weird since he was reportedly a Charms teacher before becoming head-master. The movie fixes this, don't worry. (Serial Potterhead lets go off breath).

Aside from these, there aren't many other things that can be classified as phenomenal. I haven't spoken a lot about Newt, not at all for that matter. Well, its because nothing new happens with Newt or the other characters from the previous movie. We are introduced to these new characters, namely, Grindelwald, Nagini, Young Dumbledore and Yusuf but nothing happens to them either. Whether this is a problem or not depends on how you look at it. You can look at this movie as a set-up for the sequels, in which case, it sets everything up and builds anticipation correctly. But since this sort of storytelling hasn't been used before in the Harry Potter franchise, one might approach this with skepticism, just as I do. I get the entire building up the climax thing but this isn't a story with a handful of characters, its a culmination of many story-lines. If all of these aren't explored and developed with time in initial movies like this one, summing all of them up in the final films will prove difficult and rushed, yielding unappealing results. 

The events of this movie could have fit in an hour long episode. They don't feel stretched, just insignificant, for the most part. It is full of easter eggs and foreshadowing to the events of the Harry Potter franchise which can give you a lot of satisfaction and like in my case, tears if you are a long time fan of the series, but thats it. Nothing new to the story. 

The final reveal of Credence's true identity is really unexpected and shocking yet not gasp worthy since not many people cared about it in the first place. It was a story arc which was established in this movie itself. Nevertheless, it is something to look up to. 

The visual effects are as wonderful and clean as was expected from the franchise and the music is appealing too. The camera angles were done right and deserve appreciation. Moreover, a special shout out to the Wand Choreography which was the only aspect about this film done better than other Harry Potter movies before it.  Its also just the right amount of funny. I always appreciate humor given that its done in the right amount and it of the right type.

The most disappointing and odd feature will have to be the absence of magical creatures in a movie which literally has the word 'beast' in its title. There are a few really well done scenes with beasts in them but not nearly enough. I really believe they should either change the title with the next movie or bring forth more beasts, not visually but narratively.  

Thats pretty much it. This movie just didn't have enough material to work on. The story could have had other elements incorporated into it. The points in the story which no one cared about could have been stripped away or at-least toned down. It was just lazy writing which isn't expected from the likes of J.K. Rowling. 

Yeah, I just criticized J.K. Rowling. That just happened. I believe I'm gonna end this now. I'm honestly gonna ask you to go see this movie only if you are a sucker for the entire movie watching experience with cool visuals and nice music because it did feel great to watch. Make sure you watch it in 3D though. I couldn't since I live in a cesspool they call a city.