Review of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) by Andrea C — 28 Feb 2017

I felt that Fantastic Beasts was exactly decent. It's sufficiently transportive, with largely good performances and some cool special effects. The script also seemed to be pretty good. But that felt like about the only thing it did above average.

There is a multitude of effects shots, and creatures composed entirely of CG, which really felt more cartoon than real and often destroyed the suspension of disbelief. Even worse is the artifice of the period setting - despite convincing costumery and wide shots that show off sets that look like they were only 20% green screen, it feels a lot like what we *think* New York in the 1920s looked.

There's just something sterile and unconvincing about the whole thing. Worse is the plotting of the film, which just *barely* hangs together. There's a lot, too, that is being established for the franchise, but so little of it is explained that even major plot twists felt baffling.

Oh well. I think this movie accomplished what it set out to do, but that it wasn't very ambitious in comparison to the Potter series.