Review of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018) by David L — 17 Nov 2018

I get that Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald has too many characters and subplots, but I personally loved that and I find the movie to be the most massively underrated entry in the Wizarding World universe so far.

Some characters (Nagini, Nicolas Flamel) are underused, but most got their moment to shine - Newt is more likable here than he was before, the rest of the foursome is great too, Leta Lestrange is fascinating, Gellert Grindelwald is a superb, realistic and badass villain and Jude Law is the acting highlight here as he literally became young Dumbledore.

The flick definitely felt like a middle chapter and I have some reservations about its twist ending, but I loved every other plot point, including the wonderful romances and a fantastic prevailing mystery.

The special effects are improved, the humor is great and the action scenes are superbly executed and highly entertaining, though I certainly wished for more duels myself. It has its issues, but I loved this second entry nonetheless and I am going to happy as long as JK writes the scripts to these movies as her writing skills are once again evident in this film through these massive, all interconnected storylines, fine dialogue and intricate world building.