Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

Every sequel between the first and potentially last installment of Fantastic Beasts (not only) has the unfortunate function of being a connector between the adventures – something that must be taken into account when watching the film. After two years, we return to a magical world that is slowly beginning to split into two camps, which includes close friends. The film sees the return of many old familiar characters and animals (Niffler is the Scrat of feature films) and the addition of others we've met many times in the Harry Potter saga (Dumbledore, Flamel, Nagini), so we come a little closer to the films we basically grew up on. Personally, I'd cut back on the relationship peripeties, they aren’t entirely necessary (Newt + Tina, Leta + Theseus, Queenie + Jacob) and add where it has more potential (Dumbledore + Grindelwald), which hopefully we'll see in future installments. I liked the unraveling of the story around Leta and Credence, though in the latter case it was a bit overdone by the end, but we'll be see how it develops further. It should be noted, however, that they have failed to significantly tap into the potential that this series abounds with, which in this case is a shame. In the end, this is a sequel that I had fun with in the cinema, and I was treated to some impressively shot scenes, but all the time I had in mind the fact that it could have been done in a different way than as a sequence of a few plot twists and new questions, which, although it set the stage for the next film, made the whole thing feel a bit sketchy – a thankless function of the middle films in a series, but one that can be avoided. P.S. I wonder how it is that IMDb lists McGonagall, who should be -8 years old at the time, among the characters? (11/15/2018)

The sequel to Fantastic Beasts is quite a stylish film. It looks very nice, and all those pre-war aesthetics and costumes spiced up with witch elements are pleasing to the eyes. But the drama is a bit lazy, Mlok and the animals don't play a major role, Grindelwald appears for only a few minutes... Somehow, it failed to add life to these refined images. (08/11/2022)

I didn't expect that. After the previous film, which I really liked, came the second installment from the very same creators... And it's so much worse. Boredom, familiar characters who suddenly didn't matter to me, and new characters who were quite similar, their shallow dialogues, action scenes without many ideas and the attractions named Johnny Depp and Jude Law are barely used. While the previous film revealed new chapters of the Harry Potter world and enlarged it pleasantly, this one just strangely tangles it. Two and a half. (11/23/2018)

I'm very satisfied, unless you count the fact that I went to the cinema three times, as I didn't get to see the film because tickets were sold out. I liked the world of Harry Potter because great wizard fantasy is scarce, so when it was discontinued I had no choice but to hope something similar would come along, and Fantastic Beasts is a great substitute (like The Hobbit for Lord of the Rings). Compared to Harry the casting is much better. Johnny Depp as the bad guy is excellent and finally appears in a film that won't flop financially, Jude Law as the young Dumbledore is great, and though I don’t Eddie Redmayne’s weird expression, he is a young undoubtedly talented Oscar winning actor, so it's worth a try. The production design is great and the return to the familiar world is pleasantly nostalgic, the numerous Easter Eggs are a delight, the action is decently handled, although there isn't much of it, and the finale with the blue fire dragon is spectacular. I can strongly feel that the cards are still being dealt and something big is being promised, but I don't mind it at all, because the first two episodes of Harry Potter were similar and since Azkaban it's was a ride. I'm looking forward to the pentalogy. 75%. (11/29/2018)

A fascist, anti-Nazi Depp in the blue continuation of the prequel to a magical saga… It's a little simplistic in places, but otherwise pleasant. A major drawback is that Grindewald’s crimes can’t stand alone. They are linked to so many storylines from the Harry Potter films as well as the previous Fantastic Beasts that it more or less manages to address the fundamental points in its quite limited runtime. Here, Rowling lacks the space that she has in her novels, where she can explain certain aspects. We don’t feel any connection with the new characters and they appear and disappear too quickly. Even Depp hardly appears in this movie. Law is all right, but lacks the space to shine. But even with all of these shortcomings, the narrative works. Yates should hand the directing over to someone with more skill. The action scenes are confusing and someone deserves be punched for the extreme close-ups at the beginning. The camera is often right in Redmayn’s freckly face. I don’t need to look at that. P.S. The Japanese snake woman is sexy beyond belief. I now understand Voldemort’s exaggerated affection towards her. (11/20/2018)