November is well into its stride and with it we have the latest instalment in the second Wizarding World series arc. The first and best known – the Rise and (spoiler alert) Fall of Voldemort through the 8 Harry Potter films – gave way in 2016 to the Rise and (spoiler alert) Fall of Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts series. With 5 movies planned, and little source material to reference, fans are truly in the dark as to what will transpire over the course of the 5 movie series.
The first movie, for those who haven’t seen it or struggle to recall two years past, introduced us to Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) – fabled author of the Magical Creatures text book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them that lends its name to the title of the movie. A shy, magizoologist, Newt led us on a jolly jape through New York City where creatures escaped and were recaptured, friendships were formed – Queenie (Alison Sudol), Tina (Katherine Waterston) and Jacob (Dan Fogler) chief amongst them – and Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) made his debut late in the final reel.
In Newt’s second outing, taking place a few months later, Grindelwald has escaped captivity and Newt is banned from travelling due to his New York exploits. His brother Theseus (Callum Turner), with whom he has a complicated relationship, is working for the Ministry of Magic. Theseus offers Newt a job that would let him get round the ban. But Newt is not one for office work and so declines.
Cue Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) – Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts – who informs Newt that Grindelwald has surfaced in Paris and that Newt must go and stop his evil schemes. Here’s a trailer:
The second film in a 5-film arc is always going to be difficult. The need to keep things fresh and interesting whilst continuing to setup the necessary aspects of the universe can lead some to accusations of ‘filler’ or ‘confusing’. Make no mistake – this film is neither of those.
The plot is easy to follow – we’re trying to find Grindelwald in Paris whilst dealing with personal issues caused by nonsense laws, communication breakdown and personality clashes. The new characters, and creatures, are introduced in a way that makes them instantly understandable – Jude Law’s Dumbledore has hints of the majesty that awaits him but is still firmly young both in body and mind. In flashback we see a little of Newt’s schooling and fill in a little of his backstory, principally concerning his friendship with Lita Lestrange (Zoe Kravitz).
There’s japes, pain and creatures being cute and/or scary – sometimes both simultaneously – in fact it has everything you need. The jokes, as always, land well without being offensively telegraphed or intrusive. All in all this is a great, fun film, and a worthy entry into the Wizarding World. I enjoyed it greatly and, if you’re a fan, so will you.
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald hits cinemas on Friday 16th November. I’m guessing it’ll be around for a while.
Cinematophile 