Return to the Wizarding World for another tale of magic, mystery, and mayhem – but mostly mayhem in the latest chapter, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.
Fear not, Potter fans – I will keep this brief and not include any spoilers.
The sequel picks up with dark wizard, Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) escaping prison and determined to gain more followers in his quest to have pure-blooded wizards take over the world. In hopes of stopping Grindelwald, Dumbledore (Jude Law) enlists the help of Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) and his fantastic beasts to fight the surprising dangers that are dividing the Wizarding World.
Unfortunately, this is one beast in the Harry Potter fandom that is not fantastic. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald definitely has its moments of pleasure that will delight the fans – like, who doesn’t love Newt and his adorable Nifflers? The cast gives overall strong performances. Despite your opinions of his as a human being, Depp definitely nails the creepy, charismatic and villainous Grindelwald. Even Law gave a good (but brief) performance as everyone’s favorite, Dumbledore.
However, the film feels like a tired and overstuffed fan faction. The “plot twists” were not shocking, but just puzzling – but hey, that won’t stop me from going to see the next one. I definitely hope that Rowling learns from these mistakes and goes back to the drawing board for the next installment.
Final Thoughts: Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald tried hard to shock, surprise and please but instead feels forced and too soap-opera like.
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