Starring Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogle, Jude Law, Johnny Depp

Directed by David Yates

Warner Bros., out now

 

Banned from international travel after his antics in the first film, Magizoologist Newt Scamander once again finds himself in the middle of trouble when Albus Dumbledore asks him to travel to Paris and stop recently escaped criminal Gellert Grindelwald. Can Newt save the day once again?

Several days after seeing the latest entry in the ‘Wizarding World’ (please can we stop this now, movie studios?) franchise, and having spent a fair amount of time re-watching and re-evaluating the movies that came before, I am still somewhat at a loss as to how exactly to respond to it. It is, by turns frustratingly overburdened by various subplots, darker than expected while retaining a silly edge and occasionally tone deaf to certain themes and narratives with which it plays.

Beginning with the escape of Grindlewald from captivity (which is in no way a spoiler considering how vital said escape is to fulfil the title/point of the movie) it’s a film which barely pauses for breath in a run time of slightly over two hours. The effect of that is that the various strands of numerous sub plots tacked around the main meta narrative are flung at the viewer thick and fast, and whereas I did just about manage to keep up with what was going on (helped in some areas by the fact that I had very recently watched the first Fantastic Beasts movie), I can see how younger audiences might struggle.

That said, a lot of the subject matter here is quite dark. Grindlewald’s desire to create a new world order in which wizards and witches can live openly, and muggles/no-maj’s can be accorded their proper place in the world, makes for uncomfortable viewing in the current political climate, and carries its message so seductively that younger viewers may come away with the wrong end of it entirely. Indeed, it’s possible from a certain standpoint to ask oneself what the actual crimes of Grindelwald are, given that he mainly restricts himself here to persuading others.

But there’s definitely dark stuff here, be it the underlying story of Newt’s old flame Lita Lestrange (and oh boy, does that get really dark really quickly) or the casual murder of anyone Grindelwald deems to be in his way, regardless of age or infirmity. The film is oddly lacking in shyness about the atrocities it’s willing for its villains to commit in some instances, while being weirdly restrained in others. Take for example the treatment of the man sent to escort Grindelwald to Europe for further interrogation/torture versus that of an infant who has the unfortunate luck of being a hindrance later on. There’s a lack of consistency to the darkness that becomes troubling the more the film goes on.

There’s also a concerning lack of sensitivity to certain aspects of the narrative, which speak to a director and writer who aren’t really fully alive to the themes with which they are dealing. The casual brushing over of the nature of the relationship between Dumbledore and Grindelwald is not unexpected, but it still feels particularly spiteful now. Rowling has already firmly stated what many inferred from the narrative about the two in the Deathly Hallows novel, so to see the studio skirt so desperately around the subject here just feels like a betrayal. Later, the movie goes right to the edge of drawing a parallel between the suffering of Witches and Wizards as they live their secluded lives away from the watchful eyes of muggles and one of the most horrifying events in modern history. It pulls back at the last moment from actually solidly making the comparison, but the implication is there and it jarred horribly for this viewer.

As far as performances go, Redmayne feels oddly a little like he’s had certain aspects of his character muted for this one – still likeable but not quite as fulsomely appealing as in the first film. Fogel gets little to do as well, feeling much reduced from the lynchpin companion he was last time out. Waterston gets to basically play the jealous female character in a ‘hilarious’ misunderstanding thread that doesn’t have the legs it obviously believes it does, and doesn’t seem to have advanced much as a character since last time despite having been promoted back to a full auror. Of the returning cast only Ludol gets some real meat to her development in a narrative arc that’s as likely to enrage fans as delight them. Certainly it’s the most involved and profound arc that any of the returning leads gets to participate in and kudos to Ludol for really selling it. Depp is uncharacteristically understated as Grindelwald, which only lends to the uncomfortable feeling that less mature or sophisticated viewers might actually miss the genuine villainy of the character (although his central manifesto seems not unlike that of movie Voldemort, albeit he doesn’t appear (yet) to harbour any hankerings towards immortality). Jude Law’s Dumbledore feels exactly like you would expect it to, Law’s physical stature and natural charisma combining with his plummy diction to distract you from the fact that he’s infuriatingly bland, mainly being there to gently push other characters in whatever direction the plot needs them to go in-between standing around looking handsome in a waistcoat.

Of them all, Zoe Kravitz is the undisputed standout as Lita Lestrange. Her own sub plot is fascinating if a little convoluted, but her presence outshines every other character in every single scene in which she appears. Lita is by far the most intriguing character, and right up until the final act the audience is never quite certain exactly where she stands. Considering how casually the character was mentioned in the first film, it’s a genuine delight to get an arc for her that I honestly could never have predicted.

The beasts are present and correct too. The Niffler returns with babies in tow and is as cute as you remember. Pick is there though not as much as the first time and other, larger creatures never fail to impress with their inventiveness or charm, but they don’t really play the vital part you feel they should in a film literally titled ‘Fantastic Beasts’.

It’s a mixed bag then – likeable actors delivering mixed performances in a script that often feels overcrowded with various narrative threads and whose darker parts will likely either fly over the heads or (more worryingly) be misinterpreted by the younger audience. It doesn’t feel like the universal appeal vehicle its predecessor did, and its final twist, revealed at the end, feels like the movie wants it to be a big deal, whereas it left this viewer mainly shrugging before asking how that’s even possible given all we know of this world so far. On the other hand, it’s seldom dull, full of fantastical action sequences and the creatures are as loveable as ever.

Verdict: Where the first one felt like it was trying to be all things to all people, this one feels a little like it doesn’t know what it wants to be. Tonally inconsistent and narratively messy. It’s by no means a terrible film, but neither is it a great one. 6/10

Greg D. Smith

When evil magician Grindelwald makes a daring escape from the custody of the Ministry of Magic he sets in motion a chain of events that inevitably draws in Newt Scamander and his case of magical creatures.

Author J K Rowling has never hidden the fact that her Fantastic Beasts series is going to be five movies long, prompting many to suggest that there wasn’t enough story to go the distance. Personally I wasn’t too fussed with the first movie, feeling it was too focused on world building and only really coming to life in the final reel. That’s not a criticism that can be levelled against this second instalment, which kicks off with a great set piece and never looks back.

This isn’t a movie that’s treading water – quite the contrary, it’s building up the threats that will form the backbone to the final three films – and as such it throws plot point after plot point at us. Maybe too many. In a world of dumb single idea movies it feels churlish to criticise a film for having too many ideas, but so much hits you in rapid succession that you may wish you could pause the action to process it. That’s not to say the movie is overly complicated (though Wizarding World newbies will have little chance of following what’s going on), it just requires a lot of attention.

Inevitably the links to the Harry Potter movies are very welcome, drawing the two series closer together. I have no intention in revealing what those crossovers are (that’s half the fun) beyond the appearance of Jude Law as a convincing young Dumbledore. Johnny Depp is surprisingly restrained as Grindelwald, though his plummy Terry Thomas/ Mortdecai British accent does get scarily close to the surface.

The regular cast are all back, with Eddie Redmayne’s Newt being less annoying this time round. Dan Fogle’s Jacob continues to be our comedic guide into this realm, and his relationship with Queenie (Alison Sudol) develops in new ways. The creatures are also a delight from the moley Niffler to the runner beany Pick, as well as a terrifying new Chinese dragon who can be diverted by… watch and see.

As always, these movies excel in the technical department, from first class visual effects and costumes, to vast sets and a thrilling new score by James Newton Howard.

Verdict: Made with fan service in mind, but when your franchise has this many fans, why wouldn’t you? Like Rowling’s latter Potter novels, a little plot editing wouldn’t have gone awry, but with so much invention on show, who’s really complaining. The pieces are all on the board for film three – I’m really looking forward to it. 8/10

Nick Joy