'Harry Potter' franchise crosses pond
THIS latest instalment in the
Harry Potter universe is a delight. Art Deco New York is beautifully evoked in the detailed sets and gorgeous costumes, the score is wistful and because we don’t need too many introductions, it just drops us right into the story.
It skews older than the original films, which does make sense since the first audience for the Harry Potter movies are now older, but it still carries that sense of magical glee and discovery we loved the first time around because of the exquisite set design.
Taking its cue from a textbook that Hogwarts students used, this film goes back to 1926 to show us Newt Scamander’s (Redmayne) fantastic collection of amazing creatures.
Some of Scamander’s creatures escape from his suitcase (which puts Hermione’s bewitched bag to shame) and as he attempts to round them up he is suspected of deliberately trying to expose magicians to the no-maj (muggle in the UK) world.
This being New York in the US, the rules governing relations between magicians and non-magicians are controlled by Macusa, an organisation headed by Madame Picquery (Ejogo) who tasks an auror, Percival Graves (Farrell), to contain the situation.
Scamander befriending the nonmagical Kowalski (Fogler) is a big no-no in the US where the rules of separation are strictly enforced and a reluctant ex-auror, Tina (Waterstone), tries to help him, thinking it might get her back into Macusa’s good graces.
The introduction of Tina and her sister Queenie (Sudol), gives us a glimpse into domestic magic in the 1920s and their foray into the magical underworld introduces more specifics about how the US system is different to the one we know.
The film’s pace lags when Newt is showing off his (admittedly fascinating) beasts to his new friends, but it picks up again once everyone is out of the luggage and in the real world.
A sub-plot which sees Graves using a young boy named Credence Barebones (Ezra Miller) to find out more about the anti-witch religious group New Salamers becomes folded into the greater story, which also will give you insight into the Dumbledore family if you are paying attention. As a further installation in the Harry
Potter universe, this one is heavily laden with hints, details and portents and characters are set up for the next few films which will eventually culminate in the epic battle between Gellert Grindlewald and Albus Dumbledore.
There is so much going on, and Redmayne makes for such an engaging lead, that you don’t notice that there isn’t really a strong antagonist to fight against.
The action comedy is all about worldbuilding, it delivers exactly what the title suggests and bears repeat viewing because of the extreme minutia, but this is still early days in the franchise. The poignant characterisation and epic action will come. After all, there are four more to make. If you liked the Harry Potter films, you will like this.