Animales Fantásticos: Los Secretos de Dumbledore

Though the style part was enjoyable on it's own; the cinematography, special effects, costumes, score, set design and much of the acting was brilliant. It felt great to lose myself into the feel of the wizarding world again. But the plot and the writing felt unanchored in anything real or relatable. Nothing felt earned. Events just happened without much anticipation or appreciation of their significance, and I didn't feel invested much in any of the plot lines or characters. I'm not expert enough to pinpoint exactly what went wrong, but I know something did.

No surprise that the visuals were breathtaking, some beautiful shots and immersive cinematography. However, there was no depth to the plot. Some lovely character moments.

The first 'Fantastic Beasts' film was very enjoyable. While having its fair share of problems, namely over-stuffing which affected the coherence, there was also a lot to like about the second, with Johnny Depp having much more of a chance to shine and shine he did. So seeing the third was definitely on the cards, despite its troubled behind the scenes with Depp's firing and the JK Rowling controversy which has affected the franchise's popularity this reviewer thinks.

Was also really interested in seeing how Depp's replacement Mads Mikkelsen would fare as Grindelwald. Am someone who has a very high opinion of Mikkelsen and there are not many actors who can play villains as well as he. When seeing it in the cinema some months ago, my thoughts were mixed to midlly positive at first. When thinking over it more recently when finally getting round to reviewing, this reviewer actually found herself liking it less and feeling more strongly about the problems. Of the three, it's for me the weakest (and no, that it doesn't have Depp in it has nothing to do with it) as the first two at least felt like 'Fantastic Beasts' whereas this felt like a distant relative.

'Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore' does have good things. It looks absolutely fantastic, with stunning set/production design, very atmospheric photography and effects that really do give off a sense of wonder. The music is rousing in spots, eerily haunting in others, jaunty in others and melancholic in others. Really liked that Newt had more to do and was more incidental to the story. When the beasts do feature, they are fun. Niffler steals every scene he appears in. Liked the Quilan too.

Of all the scenes in the film, it does start off very well and intriguingly, everything with Dumbledore intrigues and evokes some nice unforced nostalgia and the climax did excite initially. But the highlight is the riotously bizarre dance as part of a particularly perilous escape, a scene that also had a lot of nail biting tension. It is well performed, Eddie Redmayne continues to be well cast as Newt and Dan Vogler has a lot of fun moments. Ezra Miller is quietly intense and Jude Law is nobly charismatic. Mikkelsen is always going to be compared to Depp, and while it is a very different interpretation and more James Bond villain-like Mikkelsen is still very menacing in a subtle way.

Against all of that, there is a lot wrong. It was good that the plotting is more streamlined/straightforward and more coherent than the second, but it does suffer still from not doing enough with too many plot strands. Coming off worst is the Yusuf Kama subplot and role, which are completely incongruous to the story and could have been left out entirely because absolutely nothing is done with it. Credence's story, after so much promising build up and some nice suspense still, felt rather rushed.

Moreover, 'Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore' is too long by about twenty minutes, tightening the pace, exciting Kama's role and storyline and trimming down a little some of the last act would have solved this. Didn't like too the script's annoying tendency to over-explain, too much telling and not enough show and too much of a reliance on background exposition. Really wish that there was more of the beasts, when they do appear they are fun (though only Niffler is properly memorable) but they are very under-utilised and have very little role in the story. Excepting a nice build up, the ending felt very anti-climactic and incomplete and is a type of ending that this reviewer doesn't care about usually in case another instalment or two is not done.

In conclusion, very conflicted here and couldn't have feeling disappointed. 5/10.

The Fantastic Beast Movies should have been about Newt Scamander and friends going on wild and crazy adventures where they run into or face numerous mythical beasts. Imagine Newt interacting with an infant Fluffy (from HP Sorcerers Stone) or taming a Hungarian Horntail. Unfortunately, the fantastic beasts are overshadowed by the Dumbledore VS Grindelwald conflict. However, the film contained stunning visuals and great character performances; but lacked the tension and pizzaz required for a final battle. Worth a watch but falls short with the fantastic beasts being cast aside for a plot that does not entirely deliver.

In pleasing a result, the third entry into the Fantastic Beasts franchise (a franchise that seemingly exists with support but no dedicated fanbase or huge fanfare) is a marked improvement on the dire misstep that was 2018's The Crimes of Grindelwald, even if Harry Potter veteran director David Yates still can't find the real magic to enliven this wizarding world property to a level that would have it competing in the same space as the beloved films that came before this J. K Rowling property.

Becoming less and less about the titular beasts that started this Eddie Redmayne lead adventure all the way back in 2016 and more about trying to draw in extra audience engagement and enthusiasm by bringing back known staples such as Hogwarts and a much more prevalent Albus Dumbledore into this latest outing, you can see the battle raging between Fantastic Beasts trying to figure out exactly what it is and who its for and its a battle that isn't won clearly by the conclusion of this third outing, making it a sometimes frustratingly cold experience that still manages to entertain to decent degree.

Without a clear identity or even a character we can truly call our own, with Redmayne's Newt Scamander getting to do his awkward shtick here once more but feeling more like a bystander to whats going on around him, with new addition Mads Mikkelsen's Grindelwald growing in power and his old acquaintance Dumbledore trying to assemble a crack team to help thwart his plans, Fantastic Beasts is hamstrung by its inability to focus its attention into a specific story arc or character journey, with its drab grey and gloomy sets, dark themes and heavy topics feeling rather unmagical for a film that potentially could've finally shed the shackles of past expectations to really let fly with some inventiveness and spark.

There are snippets of such things here, a prison escape and some brief moments spent back in the halls of Hogwarts but for a majority of the films two hour plus runtime there's not a whole lot of memorable moments delivered in Yates film, which is by no means offensively bad or incoherent like much of Crimes of Grindelwald was but it still makes you wish someone could take hold of this property and turn it into the possibly great series it could be, something that is unlikely now with two films left to come.

While not inspiring much jaw-dropping or magical chills, there's still an undeniable cinematic goodness to Rowling's magic filled universe and there is a feeling here that with Dumbledore building his ragtag group of foot soldiers and with Mikkelsen giving Grindelwald a significant amount of menace and unnerving energy, there's hope yet still that the final chapters of Rowling's mid-tier and seemingly unloved property can still work to a level that will ensure we walk away from the Fantastic Beasts series indifferent in ways but not upset at what's been done to our beloved world of wizards, witches and muggles (and the odd beast or two).

Final Say -

Still far removed from even the lesser of the Harry Potter films, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is a small step back in the right direction following the crimes of the last entry and while its still not awe-inspiring by any stretch of the imagination, its a passable diversion of anyone with a passing interest in the Harry Potter cannon.

3 crab walks out of 5

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