Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald
The Wizarding World loses its magic
Following an overstuffed, if not unenjoyable, opening chapter, JK Rowling’s five-film Potter prequel series Fantastic Beasts has hit the doldrums with The Crimes Of Grindelwald. A deathly hollow, emotionally inert sequel, it spectacularly fails to cast a spell.
Set predominantly in Paris, bumbling magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) is recruited by young Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) to track down dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) before he can radicalise the wizarding community. Meanwhile, tormented obscurial Creedence Barebone searches for his parents with the assistance of future Horcrux Nagini.
The primary problem here is a lack of focus. Rather than telling a complete story, it’s primarily an exercise in positioning pawns for future sequels. Worse: Rowling takes several steps back from the first Beasts. Grindelwald’s first act is to break out of the slammer, Newt’s relationship with Tina and Jacob’s relationship with Queenie both stagnate, and new characters are introduced only to be bumped off. Grindelwald himself is a bit of a bore.
The one saving grace is Jude Law, who brings charm and class to a young Dumbledore. And fans of the series will get a kick out of the return to Hogwarts. But with Rowling contradicting her own lore (a certain Professor appears who shouldn’t even be alive), these scenes feel cynical, and only serve to remind you what the Potter films were at their best. With three Beasts left to go, let’s hope Rowling still has some tricks up her sleeve. Jordan Farley