Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is pulling no stops and gets right into the meat of the story, expanding the wizarding world with new direction and plenty of questions and answers. Much like J.K. Rowling’s novel series, the sequel takes what comes before and in doing so expands the page length. But rather than go from 200 pages to, say, 300-350, the film ultimately felt like it went from 200 pages to 800 in the span of 2 hours and 15 minutes. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald does wonders in taking us back to the whimsical wizarding world as well as presenting new faces for us to enjoy, it ultimately falls apart with its heavy melodrama and noticeably convoluted storytelling.

Shortly after the events of the first film, notorious criminal Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) is being transferred from a U.S. prison to a European prison, but successfully escapes and hides out in Paris. Several months after, Grindelwald is still on the loose and continues to seek out Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller), believing him to be the key to his goal of world domination against the non-magical world and those who inhabit it. In turn, magical zoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) is recruited by famed wizardry professor Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) to find Credence before Grindelwald does. Meanwhile, he is accompanied by his loyal, non-magical friend Jacob (Dan Fogler), who himself is suffering hard times with lover and fellow wizard Queenie Goldstein (Alison Sudol), who in turn is searching for her sister Tina (Katherine Waterston), who is also searching for Credence.

If you think the story sounds just a little complicated, then you better take some Advil to the movie theater because you are surely going to get a headache when you walk out of the theater. The film dishes out plot after plot after plot and never really focuses on telling a story. Even after the film finished and as I am writing right now, I still don’t have a clear idea as to what the movie is about. Sure, you have the plot I just mentioned, but there are so many story threads and plotlines that are introduced that the film loses focus. While the first film had its fair share of problems, at the very least it had a clear focus of what it wanted to tell. This film feels like a short 5 or 6-episode miniseries whose episodes keep intercutting back-and-forth with each other. While there’s a clear beginning and ending, I honestly couldn’t tell you where the middle lies.

But despite these moments of confusion and distortions, the film nonetheless sports numerous moments of wonder and enchantment for sure. A few times in the film we get to revisit the iconic Hogwarts, and I would be lying if I said I didn’t grin widely whenever it appeared on-screen. Those scenes, along with a few others displaced across the story, can still capture the majesty and wonder that makes the world of Harry Potter so fun to visit and revisit time and time again, whether with the spells caught, the beasts encountered, or the locations visited. Add to that the incredibly stunning visual effects and imagery, and you can certainly experience moments of delight and, dare I say, magic.

Newt Scamander continues to be a welcome addition to the world of Harry Potter. Much like in the last film, Newt’s introversion and awkwardness as well as his curiosity and kind-nature towards any living being, good or evil, still make him a unique protagonist for this franchise and Eddie Redmayne clearly has a much better understanding of what makes the character tick. Albus Dumbledore makes a grand reentrance into the franchise with Jude Law playing the iconic wizard, and his appearance feels fresh and welcoming. Law nails wisdom and composure of Dumbledore that make him such a reliably wise and experienced wizard and professor. Likewise, While Jude Law gave levity and charm to an old face, Johnny Depp gives nuance and intimidation to a new face in Gellert Grindelwald. Depp gives an almost haunting, subdued presence to Grindelwald whenever he enters the room while giving his creepy, manipulative, and morally corrupt persona a much needed dose of intrigue.

It’s a shame, then, that the rest of the cast fall short on their roles, not necessarily because of their performances which are commendable across the board, but rather their placements in the story as a whole. The majority of them are mostly sidelined and, while they sometimes help drive the story forward, they don’t have coherent stories themselves. There’s no arc for them to journey on and no depth given to them. They’re just simply there and they come in when the plot needs them to. To make things more complicated, each characters has some sort of backstory, motivation, or both behind them and many of them either don’t make any sense or they just drag down the movie. There’s so much exposition that goes into these backstories and motivation reveals, as well as a few “twists,” that it eventually begins to feel like some sort of melodrama. There’s even a scene towards the end that is comprised of nothing but heavy exposition, backstory, and motivation reveals and it plays out like a soap opera.

Overall, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is certainly a low-point in the franchise. Despite bolstering impeccably stunning visuals as well as captivating leads and enjoyable set pieces and moments of genuine wonder, they sadly can’t make up for the incredibly complicated story and a lackluster supporting cast. The film is filled to the brim with information after information after information that you are simply incapable of following along, so much so that the constant barrage of backstories, motivations, and “twists” sadly turn the film into a melodramatic mess. Hopefully the film will be perceived more fondly in the future with the inclusion of the future installments, but as of right now, as a standalone film, it’s just…fine. Simple as that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bYBOVWLNIs&t=1s&w=585