There Are Many Crimes in 'Grindelwald' Including a Lack of Fantastic Beasts
Starring Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law, Johnny Depp, Zoe Kravitz, Callum Turner, Ezra Miller, Don Fogler, Alison Sudol, Katherine Waterston, Claudia Kim
Rated PG-13
Fantasy
Run time: 2 hr, 14 min
Directed by David Yates
In theaters November 16, 2018
Let’s go ahead and get something out of the way: Jude Law as Dumbledore is what the world needed, but no one ever knew. It may be hard to get the visualization of how he became the Dumbledore we know and love in the ‘modern day’ series, but that’s beside the point.
The real point is, this series should not be called Fantastic Beasts. This second movie shows Newt Scamander (Redmayne) moving against Grindelwald (Depp) and trying to understand the situation that surrounds this evil, seemingly charismatic dark wizard who is cultivating what could become a dangerous following. Somehow, tied up in this, is Credence (Miller) who Scamander was sure was dead. A few new characters are in the mix, including Scamander’s brother (Turner) and his fiancee (Kravitz), as well as the old gang from the first movie (including the niffler, who is one of only a handful of fantastic beasts who gets more than a minute or so of screentime alongside a kind of incredible cat-dragon-wisp of an animal).
Though Scamander is still arguably the protagonist of this series, in this case, it seems like he’s just a player in a bigger story - that of Dumbledore and Grindelwald. He and his friends are no longer doing anything of their own, or at least not by the end of it. The relationships previously built become more of a sidenote or just a plot point to push everyone to a specific location.
It would do a disservice to this movie to say it is a bad film. It isn’t. It’s a beautiful, world-building stair-step in this saga that has so many echoes of a world moviegoers know so well. The characters that were endearing and lovely in the first film continue building that reputation in the second. Claudia Kim is a true gem in her appearance as Nagini - which is even more interesting than what is seen in the trailer. Kravitz shines, holding her own, even though her character’s last name (Lestrange) already holds some negative connotations.
The downsides, however, are unable to be ignored. Half of Depp’s lines sound like fortune cookie sayings that he is reading off cue cards to the left of the camera. Redmayne’s mumbling is a bit much at times, though it doesn’t diminish the desire to root for the lovable Hufflepuff. Some of the cinematography is very clearly done for the sole purpose of looking cool in 3D, but it doesn’t translate that well when it comes to standard movie fare. The plot of this movie seems to be solely setting up for the rest of the movies, which is what the previous one also felt like - making you wonder when the main event is going to start.
Now, as a terrifyingly avid Harry Potter book fan, I have to come clean. Some of the plot that is cooked up in this film, some of the connections made, don’t quite add up to me. A lot of it is a stretch, and if it wasn’t obvious that J.K. Rowling was extremely involved in the movie, I would have questioned that fact. To avoid spoilers, I won’t go into more detail, but there are a few things that made me just sit there, befuddled after the credits rolled. However, even despite that, it is always wonderful to spend time in the Wizarding World and see what else has been added to this ever-expanding universe. Just, maybe, in the next installment, there can be some more beasts.