Review #1,454: 'Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald' (2018)

Aside from Peter Jackson's epic Lord of the Rings trilogy (the less said about his more recent adaptation of The Hobbit, the better), no cinematic journey into the realms of the fantastical has captured the imagination of audiences in recent years quite as much as J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter, a cash-making juggernaut for both Warner Bros. and the author herself. When the franchise came to a conclusion in 2011, it was never going to be away from our screens for very long, and the 'Wizarding World' universe was expanded in 2016 with the surprisingly charming Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Like Harry Potter, Beasts managed to find a nice balance between wand-swishing set-pieces, enduring us to a new set of compelling characters, and building a tangible new world for it all to take place in. And with Eddie Redmayne's Newt Scamander - a shy and awkward David Attenborough type - at the centre of it all, the pieces were in place for an engrossing - and different - saga to get out teeth into.

The delicate balance found by Rowling and director David Yates the first time around is sadly nowhere to be found in this follow-up, The Crimes of Grindelwald. This is part two of a five-part story, so introductions are brushed aside in favour of plot, plot and some more plot. The first hour is taken up by bringing this new group of characters back into the fold, finding Newt grounded by the Ministry of Magic following his shenanigans last time around, just as a new threat rears its ugly face in the form of Johnny Depp's muggle-hating Grindelwald. The bad wizard is searching for the troubled Credence (Ezra Miller), who has emerged in Paris with a circus performer called Nagini (Clauia Kim), but Auror Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston) is already on the case. It seems as though everybody is searching for Credence. Even the young Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law), who is mysteriously reluctant to face his old friend-gone-bad himself, tries to convince Newt to go to Paris in his stead. Muggle Kowalski (Dan Fogler) is also back with his memory mainly in tact, as is his girlfriend Queenie (Alison Sudol), who is struggling to deal with a Ministry ban on Wizard-Muggle relationships.

The Crimes of Grindelwald throws everything it can into the mix: a rain-soaked battle in the air, Newt caught up in no less than three romantic entanglements, a detour to Hogwarts, and more name-drops and Easter eggs than you can shake a stick at. It's an unfathomable wall of information, punctured by an occasional set-piece that only truly come to life when the titular (and frustratingly sidelined) beasts are involved. The Harry Potter films dodged this bullet by allowing the audience to grow into this world, and often grow up with the characters, but Fantastic Beasts goes all out without really justifying its flagrant disregard for coherency, or earning the right to take such an approach. Although he is often pushed out of the spotlight by the many side-plots occurring, Redmayne just about holds it all together with another endearingly twitchy performance, and Law, who combines some of Michael Gambon mannerisms with a more youthful swagger, proves to be a shrewd bit of casting. Ultimately, this follow-up is too busy moving the chess pieces into place to focus on character, and many are pushed into the background as a result. There are great revelations, but after two hours of trying to keep up with who's who and what's what, they don't have much impact. It isn't enough to derail the series completely, but I'll have a hard time remembering where the hell we are by the time the third entry rolls around.


Directed by: David Yates
Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Johnny Depp, Ezra Miller, Zoë Kravitz, Jude Law, Callum Turner, Claudia Kim
Country: UK/USA

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,164: 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' (2016)

Despite the enormous financial success of the eight-part Harry Potter series, adapted from J.K. Rowling's equally successful books, they never seemed to reach the heights of greatness that their box-office receipts would suggest. The main problem the few directors chosen to adapt the novels faced was having to condense the increasingly bulky word count into a coherent 2 hour plus movie. They were never anything less than fun and enchanting, but the films suffered from cramming in too many plot-lines and character backgrounds, and often felt like they were frantically lunging from one scene to the next. With Potter's time at Hogwarts now over, many wondered where Rowling would go next, and if she would even return to world of wizards, witches and house-elves at all.

To the fan's delight, she chose to keep her first screenplay within the same universe as Hagrid and Voldemort, but instead focus on a character frequently mentioned in the books as an author and good friend to headmaster Dumbledore. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was the name of the textbook Harry, Hermione and Ron would often brood over, and Newt Scamander the man behind it. The development of this revered encyclopaedia of the many weird and wonderful creatures unknown to mere muggles is the focus of Rowling's first movie attempt, and the action jumps back in time to 1920s New York to find the young Newt - played with a delightful hunched eccentricity by Eddie Redmayne - discovering a world completely different the one in his native Britain.

He is in the U.S. to raise awareness of the need to protect the beloved creatures of the world, and comes with a magical bag stuffed with the oddities. But much like the dangerous world Harry Potter grew up in 70-odd years later, the wizarding community live in fear of an evil wizard named Gellert Grindelwald (I won't spoil who plays him), who has recently murdered several aurors all over Europe. However, Newt has more pressing issues when some of his fantastic beasts escape, and his suitcase accidentally ends up in the hands of bumbling wannabe-baker and muggle ('no-maj' in American) Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler). Teaming up with recently-demoted auror Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston), Newt must round up the creatures wreaking havoc while convincing the Magical Congress that his pets aren't to blame for several unexplained deaths happening across the city.

There's certainly a lot going on in this movie, and early on it feels like Rowling is asking a hell of a lot of the audience in taking in this new ensemble of new characters and a whole new kind of wizarding world (wizard-muggle relationships are strictly banned here). Yet the story quickly falls into place, and Rowling delights in creating a wonderful array of genuinely fantastic beasts, each with their own unique look, quirks and special abilities. With a hushed voice and gently inquisitive personality, Newt instantly brings to mind Sir David Attenborough, one of the greatest human beings on this planet. His briefcase is like a tardis, containing an entire zoo of exotic creatures, each with their own habitat to suit their needs. When Newt takes the awestruck Jacob for a grand tour, it's almost like watching an episode of Planet Earth, and this use of commentary on the state of species' endangerment in the real world adds a bit of depth to the story.

Although Alfonso Cuaron certainly made the best entry into the Potter film franchise, David Yates has been the steady hand to guide the series since number 5, so it's of no surprise that he was chosen to take the reins again. Like before, he brings a flair to the magical moments, and the special effects constantly impress (while they may not be up to the recent Jungle Book's standards). Yet the best scenes are during the quieter moments, and in particular a scene at dinner involving a dazed Jacob and Tina's sexy sister Queenie (Alison Sudol), and their charming flirtations. Newt's friendship with Jacob forms the emotional backbone of the story, and Fogler damn near steals the entire film. There's also fine support from Colin Farrell as a shady Congress official, and Samantha Morton and Ezra Miller as a fanatical mother and son rallying no-majs against wizards. While the climax may descend slightly into fight-the-CGI-fart-cloud nonsense, it just feels good to be back in Rowling's world again.


Directed by: David Yates
Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Dan Fogler, Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, Samantha Morton, Ezra Miller, Colin Farrell, Jon Voight
Country: UK/USA

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie