Review of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018) by Amanda T — 21 Nov 2018

I wanted to like Crimes of Grindelwald. I was so excited to see it, but this film missed the mark in so many ways: wardrobe was weird and didn't match the characters, the film over-used CGI, they added a bunch of new characters that weren't essential to the plot line, and they failed to recreate the things that made the first Fantastic Beasts so special.

What I liked about the first Fantastic Beasts, what charmed me the most was:

The numerous fantastic beasts and Newt's explanations of their qualities and quirks.

Newt as a refreshingly non-confrontational and non-violent male protagonist.

Continuous humor in the movie, little moments that reliably made audiences giggle.

The love stories central to the first film's plot.

The romantic way America in the 20's is portrayed & the exploration of the magical world in a different time and place.

...but none of these things were capitalized on in Crimes on Grindelwald! Instead we got:

Much less time with Newt.

Introduced to two new 'fantastic' beasts, with minimal explanation or exploration.

Random characters added to the story that served only the twists at the end.

A bunch of storyline drama that didn't make sense *spoiler ahead*.

Why would two babies from pure blood magical families happen to be on the same boat to America together? What reason is there for Dumbledore's family to send off their youngest son? Furthermore, since when does the Dumbledore family have more than three children? It was all a bunch of nonsense used to fabricate a twist ending that was supposed to shock audiences, but it left us underwhelmed.

I was expecting this movie to be a show down between young Dumbledore and Grindelwald, with Newt using his knowledge of magical beasts, and his connection with them, to help Dumbledore's side win. I expected this would be the magical war that is alluded to, but instead it was an entire film of build up to that film.

As many have pointed out, they utterly failed to portray young Dumbledore in a way that honored the Harry Potter books and films. The Dumbledore they give us in Crimes of Grindelwald is interesting and dapper, but he isn't Dumbledore. His mannerisms, his way of speaking, the twinkle in his eye, his wardrobe...none of it matched, making it impossible to believe that the young Dumbledore they give us in Crimes of Grindelwald would ever grow to become the wise and eccentric Dumbledore we came to love in Philosopher's Stone and the rest of the HP series.

Perhaps the best part of Crimes of Grindelwald, the reason I didn't entirely dislike it, was Zoe Kravitz's role. Though her character wasn't explained well enough, her part was a joy to watch. She was graceful and mesmerizing on screen, as always. Hair and make up did a great job with her and with Queenie's character (again).

One thing that was strange was that young Dumbledore taught DADA in this film and in the books he taught Transfiguration. Lastly, again, too much CGI. All the smoke, billowing sheets, and flames were cheesy. The action scenes in general were cheesy because the storyline for them was weak, they over-relied on special effects, and the actors didn't seem convinced that their action lines were solid (because they weren't).

I hope that for the next film they'll give us more of what we loved in the first Fantastic Beasts (lots of focus on Newt, more new magical creatures, more of the dynamic between Newt and Jacob, more romance, and more giggles). I also hope they'll develop a storyline that makes more sense and will use fewer special effects (or use them more wisely).