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Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald Movie Review

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is a 2018 fantasy film directed by David Yates and starring Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law and Johnny Depp. It’s such a good, underrated entry in the franchise.

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“You never met a monster you couldn’t love“

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First and foremost, I would say that the first movie is better than this one because it’s more professional in its pacing, characterization and storytelling. I adore that film so much, but I also really like this one and I find it to be massively underrated. I can sort of get why it’s getting so many mixed reviews by critics, but I still do not approve of it.

Yes, the movie has too many characters and it is overly plotted, but that’s the joy of it for me. It seems to me that people like simplistic storytelling nowadays and that the blockbuster movies had gotten progressively more stupid and simple. This one is so beautifully intricate in its detailed, strong storytelling that I enjoyed every single second of it. J. K. Rowling wrote the script and it most definitely shows, especially in the mystery department as the film is absolutely fantastic as a mystery. That was so well written, consistently involving and eventually very satisfactory. I personally don’t know now what to think of the twist reveal at the end of the movie, but everything else plot-wise I ate up here and I adored every single development that occurred. It’s evident that the author of a book who knows what she’s doing wrote the script and not just some plain movie screenplay writer and I am going to be so happy with these results if she stays to write the whole franchise herself.

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I am now going to talk about each and every character from this massive cast and that is the best way to also touch upon the story overall as most characters get their own subplots here, which I really appreciated. I loved how almost nobody was pushed aside, except a few glaring omissions. First off, Newt Scamander. I actually liked Newt much more here than I did in the previous installment. Eddie Redmayne still has his quirks in this one too, but the character is actually so well written and endearing in his humor plus his dilemma of having to pick a side was very relatable to me personally. It’s  quite a deep pacifist-themed subplot.

Tina Goldstein is also terrific. She got less to do here, but she’s still quite likable and easy to root for. I have to say that I continue to buy their romance as I love this pairing so much. That scene where they shyly and awkwardly confess their feelings for one another was simply so sweet and wonderful. These romances in the Fantastic Beasts films work so much better than they ever did in the Harry Potter movies. Jacob Kowalski is still very likable and a lot of fun, although he did not get too many scenes here. His relationship with Queenie is another case of a beautiful romance story that works stupendously. She is so vulnerable in this movie and her eventual turn to Grindelwald’s side, although rushed, was still felt emotionally as it was a great sequence.

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Credence continues to be a very intriguing, interesting, mysterious character. I really enjoyed his quest for identity in this film and, although subdued in terms of the power, he still remains a very powerful, important presence in the franchise. Theseus, Newt’s brother, is an embarrassment in terms of action scenes as I never saw how he could have fought in World War I when here he seemed so weak. But still, I really liked his character and how he obviously cared for his brother. Their estranged, but still caring relationship was so well written.

Leta Lestrange is honestly one of the film’s most interesting personalities. Her relationship with Newt was witnessed here in a flashback scene in Hogwarts, which was simply adorable and highly nostalgic for me, but her eventual heroine act was amazing and she was simply a very fascinating, complex character throughout.

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As for the characters that did not work for me personally, Nicolas Flamel is one of them. He simply seemed to be fan service and rarely anything more than that. Though a lot of fun, his purpose should have been greater for the actual story. Yusuf Kama also was left underdeveloped when he was at first quite interesting and had the potential for greatness. Abernathy is horribly underused and Nagini is simply a major disappointment. I loved the reveal of her being a Maledictus, but that had already been seen in the trailer whereas in the actual flick she was underutilized, underdeveloped and simply a majorly hollow creation.

Gellert Grindelwald is a fantastic villain and his speech is terrific near the end. He does not hate Muggles (No-Majs), but he simply doesn’t want them to destroy the world as showcased in that very effective World War II glimpse into the future. I respected his reasoning and I found him to be a very down-to-earth, realistic villain who’s still so badass and powerful and oh so cool. Johnny Depp was actually stupendous in the role and he perhaps even stole the movie.

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Well, not exactly, because Jude Law as Albus Dumbledore is simply a revelation. In terms of the script, the character gets the best arc. I absolutely loved how they portrayed him and how he was subdued and emotionally fragile in this film. Jude Law simply became Dumbledore in his raspy, calm voice and suave demeanor. He continues to send others to do his dirty work, which is very Dumbledore. These two actors did the best job for sure, but others are all fantastic across the board with Zoe Kravitz making the biggest, most emotional impact.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald looks awesome. Yes, they upped the game significantly from the first movie as the special effects look so much better, more polished and at times even spectacular. I especially appreciated the colors of blue and yellow. It’s darkly shot as is David Yates’ annoying style per usual, but it still has its light scenes which are charming. The costumes are also absolutely magnificent and very truthful to the 20s time period.

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The action sequences are thrilling and fantastic, especially the brilliant opening prison break scene. I loved the final battle too, but the actual duels were thoroughly lacking in this movie, which bothered me quite a bit. Still, I loved the restrained action approach and those action scenes that we got are all extremely well executed and highly entertaining.

The movie is definitely briskly paced, but it still has its slower, more moving scenes. The very slow pace, a filler feel to the overall story and a highly novelistic approach are the obvious problems here, and yes, for this epic story with a lot of true, long subplots, the film needed an even longer runtime for sure. David Yates’ direction is better than usual though and the dialogue is as superb as you’d expect from JK. The humor is also wonderful and definitely present, which I initially feared it wouldn’t be. The movie is actually not as dark as most said. Crimes of Grindelwald has a middle chapter problem as it definitely felt like a second chapter instead of a full story and that criticism I get, but it still did not bother me too much. The score is great and the flashbacks all worked. They reminded me how much I simply adore Hogwarts and, even though I still love this new franchise, I miss my favorite castle so much.

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I get that Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald has too many characters and subplots, but I personally liked that and I find the movie to be the most underrated entry in the Wizarding World universe so far. Some characters (Nagini, Nicolas Flamel) are underused, but most got their moment to shine – Newt is more likable here than he was before, the rest of the foursome is great too, Leta Lestrange is fascinating, Gellert Grindelwald is a superb, realistic and badass villain and Jude Law is the acting highlight here as he literally became young Dumbledore. The flick definitely felt like a middle chapter, it is overly slow in pace and I have some reservations about its twist ending, but I at least liked every other plot point, including the wonderful romances and a strong prevailing mystery. The special effects are improved, the humor is great and the action scenes are superbly executed and highly entertaining, though I certainly wished for more duels myself. It has its glaring issues, but I mostly really liked this second entry nonetheless and I am going to be happy as long as JK writes the scripts to these movies as her writing skills are once again evident in this film through these massive, all interconnected storylines, fine dialogue and intricate world building.

My Rating – 3.5