Fans have speculated for years about the secrets that Dumbledore has hidden. This movie provides us an opportunity to really get to know this legendary character. Yet, a lot of us were left wanting a few more secrets to be spilled.
We cannot deny that the first scene between Dumbledore (Jude Law) and Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen) is intense. It answers questions and a lot of speculation that fans have had since the previous Fantastic Beast film came out. These two actors together throughout the film are the few highlights you can witness throughout watching this film.
There was a lot of hope for the Fantastic Beasts franchise and films, yet they are massively underdelivering. They are alright, but for the audience that has already witnessed the world of Harry Potter, we have high expectations and the films aren’t meeting them. Which is a shame because they should be better than what they are.
Considering this film is literally entitled ‘Fantastic Beasts’, it is curious that not many beasts are actually shown. We do get some good and frankly quite funny scenes with Newt (Eddie Redmayne) and some of these fantastical beasts. Yet the main emphasis of this film is on Dumbledore and his family. It's great to get more of an insight into the mysterious Dumblordore family, yet I wish more time was spent with them.
Speaking of Newt Scamander, it is weird that he isn’t even the main character of his own films. Instead, he is an awkward side character to Dumbledore. He goes through with all of Dumbledore’s plans without a second thought with his brother (Callum Turner), Newt’s assistant Bunty (Victoria Yeates), powerful Hogwarts professor Lally Hicks (Jessica Williams), and Newt’s Muggle baker friend Jacob (Dan Fogler). Jacob is once again a crucial source of kindness and comic relief.
It feels strange that Tina (Katherine Waterston) has such minimal screen time. Especially as she is meant to be the love interest of Newt. Tina's disappearance was very noticeable, and it was a shame she wasn’t seen. I do question why she made an appearance at all in the very last scene. Her presence was lacking and the story to cover it up wasn't strong enough.
There is a focus on Grindelwald rigging the election that is seen throughout the film. The whole film, hinges on the actions of a very rare and deer-like animal which is named a Qilin. This creature has psychic abilities that can see who is the best person to run the wizarding world. It is only at the end do we really understand what Grindelwald has been up to, and what Newt was up to at the beginning of the film.
We can’t talk about Fantastic Beasts, without talking about Credence (Ezra Miller), we finally find out his true identity, which was one of the best reveals in this film. Miller’s performance is quite forgettable, which is concerning considering this character has such a huge impact in Dumbledore’s family. Credence has such little impact in this film, that you wouldn't notice he was even part of the film. This is quite disappointing, as there was a lot of promise with this character, to begin with at the start of the film franchise.
There was a lot of hope in this film and a lot of promises to secrets being revealed is what hooked people to watch it. Yet overall, this is the weakest film in this franchise to date. It's a shame, but the Secrets of Dumbledore just didn’t deliver at all. The secrets that were revealed were surprising, while the others were quite predictable. This film was definitely building up the next one in the series, but it was overall forgettable and underwhelming.
Performance | 2.5/5 |
Enjoyment | 2/5 |
Overall Rating | 2.3/5 |