Review of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) by Robby K — 18 Jan 2017
The newest addition to the Harry Potter universe is a disappointing one. It's not bad, but it doesn't match the standards of the original series. The main issue is that it doesn't focus on the areas that it should.
Katherine Waterston is given nothing interesting to do, the villain is just awful, and the characters who have potential like Ezra Miller as an, I kid you not, abused orphan are hardly ever on screen.
Eddie Redmayne should have been the next Harry Potter, but his character is boring. The only shred of interesting back story is when we see a picture of Zoë Kravitz, but they gloss over that in literally two minutes.
It's a messy attempt at a Harry Potter knock off, and you can mainly blame director David Yates. He's helmed previous Harry Potter movies, but this is his first attempt at starting a franchise and while future installments have potential, it may be a good idea to hand the reigns to a different director.
The "Beasts" are very fun and they never get too out of hand so they seem believable enough, but they still feel like side pieces instead of focal points. Alison Sudol and Dan Fogler have interesting character arcs, but they aren't given enough time to do anything special.
Even the score is messy, it doesn't gauge the situation. Think of it as if someone was blaring rock music during a funeral, it may not sound bad, but it doesn't fit the situation. "Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them" isn't a complete failure, but it's highly disappointing.
This review of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) was written by Robby K on 18 Jan 2017.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them has generally received positive reviews.
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