Magic gets overwhelmed
Extravaganza crammed with characters leaves little to look forward to
“Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” casts a welcome wizardly spell for people who thought the first entry in the new series set in J.K. Rowling’s world just didn’t feel “Harry Potter” enough.
There are Quidditch players zooming by, floating candles in the Hogwarts dining hall and Jude Law playing a youngish Albus Dumbledore. Muggles in the film have suddenly become an endangered species.
But the sequel to “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” lacks the leisurely pace to enjoy the familiar setting. Guided by “Potter” directing veteran David Yates, we’ve rocketed past the slow build cama-
raderie of early Harry Potter and straight into “Deathly Hallows, Part I” territory. The fate of the world is at stake; no time for first kisses or being late to class.
The “Fantastic Beasts” movies are prequels, produced and written by author Rowling as a spin-off to the Potter world. “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” (2016) was resolute to follow a new path, with monster-loving wizard Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) trying to keep a low profile in 1920s New York.
“Crimes of Grindelwald” quickly raises the stakes to the apocalypse. Scamander, barred from international travel, is recruited to combat the rising evil of Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) — a dark arts master who believes wizards are superior and humans should be exterminated or enslaved.
It’s a familiar and tired theme for anyone who has been exposed to the philosophies of Magneto in the “XMen” films, or the Decepticons in “Transformers.” Depp, with his single white cornea and Sting “Synchronicity”-era hair, is a striking figure but offers little intellectual depth. Like pretty much every role he’s accepted since 1998, the character seems crafted primarily for its cosplay potential at future comic book conventions.
That leaves Redmayne to carry the movie, and he comes through at almost every turn. As Dumbledore explains early in the film, Scamander is a man who doesn’t seek power. Redmayne plays him as an almost priestly figure, willing to sacrifice himself and his love life for the greater good. He’s easy to root for, even when the visual extravaganza starts to overwhelm the plot.
Zoe Kravitz is also strong as Leta Lestrange, an outcast from Scamander’s Hogwarts years, who projects a wounded nobility that is welcome in a film with too much comic relief. The flashbacks to their early Hogwarts years are excellent, teasing the rewarding slow build for these characters that we’ll probably never get to see.
The best parts in this film are the quiet moments with Scamander and his animals. A scene in his “Fantastic Beasts” pet hospital could have gone on for another hour — just the camera on Redmayne and his assistant administering eye drops to misunderstood monsters — and few in the audience would complain.
Ah, but there are plot turns, and other characters — so many characters — crammed into the new “Fantastic Beasts.” The filmmakers move the action to Europe, straining to find excuses to bring back unnecessary New York actors from the previous film, while adding too many new ones. They often feel forced together awkwardly, like the random guests you seat when you’re figuring out the final table at your wedding reception.
By the time we reach the unsatisfying cliffhanger ending, there’s little to look forward to. “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” has accumulated so many characters and such high stakes, we know there will be scant time in the third film for Redmayne to just hang out with some animals.
The “Fantastic Beasts” films have entertained, while moving too fast. Two films in, and we’re ready for the prequels to the prequels to begin.