fantastic-beasts-posterStarring Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Colin Farrell

Directed by David Yates

Warner Bros., out now

J K Rowling takes us back to the wizarding world of Harry Potter as she adapts and expands her 2001 Comic Relief novella for the big screen in a fairly pedestrian opening instalment in what has been revealed to be a five-part series.

I imagine that after the five-year drought since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II, Potterheads are desperate to watch any new big screen material from the Rowling-verse, and I would also suspect that Fantastic Beasts ticks enough boxes and features enough tropes from that world to keep them sated for now. But those who have only watched the Potter films and are expecting more of the same might just find this a little under nourishing. I’ve never read a Harry Potter book (though I’ve seen all the films) and always felt at a disadvantage when Potter apologists countered any criticisms of the movies with ‘Well, that’s because they omitted the best bits from the film.’ And so this time round I was intrigued to see what the complete experience would be – Rowling was writing the screenplay herself from her slim, short story.

Very little time is wasted in reminded us that we’re back in Potter territory – there’s newspapers with animated photos, house elves and blasting wands. An immediate difference to the Potter series is that the protagonists are all adults, and those with magic powers are already very competent. Our protagonist is Eddie Redmayne’s Newt Scamander, a bumbling Brit with a magical suitcase who arrives on Ellis Island in the 1920s. He’s travelled to America to release one of the many fantastic beasts hidden deep inside his TARDIS-like valise in his very own miniscope, but wouldn’t you know it, a moley platypus critter with a penchant for valuables has escaped into a bank. Such magical japery doesn’t go unnoticed, and he’s spotted by Porpentina Goldstein (an engaging great Katherine Waterston, soon to appear in Alien: Covenant) a disgraced member MACUSA (the Magical Congress of the United States of America).

To help us Muggles navigate this new world we have Dan Fogler as Kowalski, a cannery worker who dreams of being a baker, unwittingly drawn into the drama following a mix-up in cases. He asks the questions that we’re all thinking, though be aware that ‘Muggle’ is not a universal word – it’s ‘No-Maj’ in America. Elsewhere, there’s a sub-plot that involves dissent within a magic-fearing society, ripples of a glowing malevolence/disturbance in the Force, and a strangely under-used Colin Farrell. This all happens under the shadow of the re-emergence of Gindelwald, this series’ answer to Voldemort. Where is he hiding, and where will he strike next? Prior to the movie’s release it had been confirmed that Jonny Depp is appearing in part two and that the Dumbledore will feature too, and in many ways this is my biggest problem with the movie; it’s eyes are so focused on setting up what happens next that is feels less interested in what’s going on now.

Verdict: The grand reveals aren’t that great, the fantastic creatures are just ok and the wand-waving final confrontation against the ethereal force is standard textbook MCU third-act resolution. And yet, the production design is gorgeous – 20s New York is beautifully recreated in all its Art Deco glory – and the cast are never less than fun. It just feels hollowly uninvolving, with things indifferently happening around you. Harry Potter had to wait until The Prisoner of Azkaban to really find its feet, so maybe by part three this new series will have hit its stride. 6/10

Nick Joy