Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald

This review may contain spoilers!

If there's one thing JK Rowling could have learnt from Star Wars it's the ill-conceived notion of installing a prequel series into your franchise. I would give Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald a 4/10.

This film has a solid twenty minutes of good cohesive plot and that's generally whenever there's a focus upon the character of Gellert Grindelwald. This antagonist has a very quiet, methodical way of seeing his ends met and is able to win battles through his powers of persuasion rather than his magical ability. Grindelwald is a fearsome antagonist, an antithesis to Dumbledore through and through which is what makes him so thrilling to watch. The way this world is captured is so creative and absolutely grandiose, the large-scale special effects are captured in thrilling ways and the camera is used creatively to depict effects of magical spells. The special effects are certainly where these films come to life, seeing magical creatures roaming through London houses or Paris streets is a real treat. The music for the Harry Potter franchise has always been exemplary and this continues to be the case in the Fantastic Beasts series, there were some notable returns to the old with the revelation of Hogwarts as a setting but equally some of the new music, like Grindelwald's escape, will have you right on the edge of your seat.

Eddie Redmayne, who played Newt Scamander, has really found one of his most iconic roles in Newt; this role is disconnected from people and yet quietly confident and selfless that he becomes a great protagonist to watch. Callum Turner, who played Theseus Scamander, plays a headstrong older brother to Redmayne's Newt that actually feels like a mature distant sibling relationship; Turner does a wonder at being torn between his role's sense of duty and loyalty to family throughout the feature. Jude Law, who played Albus Dumbledore, does an admirable job as a young Dumbledore; this may not be the most ideal candidate for the casting but Law's skill as a performer shines through. Dan Fogler, who played Jacob Kowalski, is really a strong comedic talent who grounds these new films in a lot of ways; yet this time around Fogler's portrayal of his character's desire to reunite with Queenie and his grief at her corruption is rather profound. Thea Lamb and Joshua Shea, who played Young Leta Lestrange and Young Newt Scamander respectively, do an incredible job of capturing the relationship between their roles in a way you don't really get between Redmayne and Kravitz; Lamb shows how Leta has been bullied and haunted both due to her family name and her past actions, while Shea just looks and feels like Redmayne beat for beat.

However, the best performance came from Johnny Depp, who played the lead antagonist: Grindelwald. Over the past few years I've seen Depp play to blockbuster characters in a way in which their quirks were emphasised but not their actual character, yet sometime in 2017, my opinion changed when I saw a significant return to form in Murder on the Orient Express. Now Depp keeps that streak alive with this precise and calculated villain who is keeping this Harry Potter prequel universe alive. Depp approaches a scene with a quiet finesse, happy to stand the cold observer while keeping a lid on what can only be a deadly power brewing within. What I loved about this role was how he was described as being seductive or manipulative and it showed. There were key scenes where Grindelwald would stride amongst characters and speak calmly, persuasively and in a manner that provoked little response. Depp spends this whole feature making you want to listen to his star antagonist, hear what he has to say and then watch in horror as he conducts his magic and brings death right in that final act.

In many ways, it looks like the magical wizarding world of Harry Potter and it sounds like it too but in fact, there's no magic here and the romantic escape to Rowling's world isn't there anymore. Back when I watched the first Fantastic Beasts I thought the American setting was too harsh for what was trying to be achieved but in truth, it's more than that. These films are trying to tell a dark, conspiratorial cold war story in the wizarding world with characters who aren't young and see the wonder of the world around them. It's a story that feels dark and grey because it is so and that's not interesting nor is it fun - it's certainly less than what audiences are expecting. Yet that's merely tone issues and that was already there; what this film does wrong so much more so than the first was that so much happened and yet nothing at all did. The story here has a main plot with little substance, Grindelwald escapes and then holds a meeting at the end of the film for his followers in which he secures Credence. That main storyline is talked about a lot but doesn't ever feel like the focus or the driving force. Instead, this film pushes a dozen minor subplots that tease surprise revelations about a character's identity, there's a number of romantic subplots in the works, Newt's still collecting the odd magical creature and there are about eight new characters to attempt to focus on. The first Fantastic Beasts very frustratingly set up a lot with the implication it would be expanded upon in the next film yet this sequel answers only a few questions while confusing you by setting up and introducing more than is really needed. Rowling certainly can write some amazing novels but I'm not very convinced she can construct a good screenplay.

Kevin Guthrie and Poppy Corby-Tuech, who played Abernathy and Rosier respectively, are rather dull as Grindelwald's lackeys; these two are seen the most as his loyal followers but they have no personality to them and are essentially glorified extras. Zoe Kravitz, who played Leta Lestrange, was very much hyped up in the first film and never really lives up to it in this sequel; Kravitz feels disconnected from those she acts against and doesn't seem to balance out the moral and nasty sides of her character. Derek Riddell, who played Torquil Travers, is a mean enough role but doesn't seem too different from all the other mean older Aurors in these films; Riddell plays an abrasive figure but that's all he ever really amounts to being. Ezra Miller, who played Credence Barebone, is the bane of these Fantastic Beasts films; it's a pity his character continues to have a presence because there's so very little to him. Ingvar Eggert Sigurdsson, who played Grimmson, is one of those characters that really feels like he's overpopulating the film; Sigurdsson is just there to be a further point of antagonism in the 'find Credence' subplot. Victoria Yeates, who played Bunty, is a character suddenly attached to Redmayne's lead who you don't really get time to adjust to; she's barely introduced before the film pulls you away from her again. Alison Sudol, who played Queenie Goldstein, was one of the shining performances in the first film but her character is all over the place this time around; Sudol's role is seen to be manipulative at first which is quite off-colour and the whole subplot where she is corrupted is a significant weak link. Katherine Waterston, who played Tina Goldstein, is such a bland character who has little connection with Redmayne; Waterston just doesn't feel like she has the intensity to be playing an Auror. Claudia Kim, who played Nagini, is a role who is very much a nod to Harry Potter lore but who doesn't have a character outside of that; Kim feels like she's there so that Miller has someone to talk to in his aimless subplot. Olafur Darri Olafsson, who played Skender, is the generic mean-spirited circus showman; Olafsson's role is quite similar to Perlman's from the first film, a glorified cameo that doesn't have much of an effect. William Nadylam, who played Yusuf Kama, is this overly intense minor role who just has more screen time than he's really worth; Nadylam's feverish angry rants aren't very inspired and he doesn't have the presence to lend to his role's mystique. Brontis Jodorowsky, who played Nicolas Flamel, is introduced far too late into the film as a sort of novelty; but really the sudden introduction of Jodorowsky is another character the audience is trying to puzzle out exceptionally late into the feature.