Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is a 2018 fantasy film and the second installment of the Fantastic Beasts series set in J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World featuring the adventures of magizoologist Newt Scamander.
Even if Harry Potter is done with his journey, the author J. K. Rowling still wants to bring more movies set in the Wizarding World. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a rare example of a great prequel that is able to stand on its own, even if you haven’t seen the previous instalments from the franchise. However, that can’t be said for the sequel titled Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. Directed once again by David Yates, it does have some enjoyment in it, but it’s unfortunately the worst film of the series.
It’s going to be hard to summarize the film, because there are so many complicated things happening. But the main gist is that a young Dumbledore (played amazingly by Jude Law) is asking his confidante Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) to go to France and stop the evil wizard named Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) from ruling the Muggle world as he wants pure-blood wizards to take over. That’s the basic premise of the overall movie if you take away all the convoluted and boring subplots.
Newt Scamander is once again a likable protagonist, and Redmayne does a good job bringing some fun vibe to his character. However, Law is the best part of the entire film, even if he doesn’t have a lot of screen time. His interpretation of Dumbledore is really fascinating, and the actor brings a lot of charisma to his performance. The rest of the cast is also great, but it’s just that their characters are underdeveloped. Supporting characters like Queenie and Kowalski are just there for the sake of being there, and sadly they don’t add anything to the story. It’s a shame, because they’re great characters yet kind of unnecessary. Another disappointing aspect is that the villain Grindelwald is not that menacing. Depp tries his best to make him compelling, but then he becomes a clichéd and uninspired antagonist as the movie goes on. To sum it up, he’s not as memorable as the powerful Voldemort.
The director has been a part of the franchise ever since he has made Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, so obviously he and Rowling know this universe better than anyone else. All the scenes involving around magical elements are phenomenal, and the cinematography is top-notch. Potterheads are going to love all the Easter eggs set in the Wizarding World, and they might have a good time with it. It’s just that the script has so many issues of balancing its subplots and characters, which drags the pacing at times, especially during the second act. It tends to be unfocused with its narrative, which makes the movie discombobulated sometimes. In the previous films, they always focus on the main protagonist. But in this one, it goes back and forth with its characters, which makes it hard to follow. There are times you can tell it’s trying so hard to set up upcoming sequels, and that can be a little irritating.
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is still an enjoyable watch, even if it’s easily the worst film in the franchise. It’s visually stunning and well-acted, but it’s nothing special. Such wizarding movies and fun activities like Hogwarts quizzes will definitely appeal to potterheads, while casual moviegoers will either like or dislike this movie.