Like with most Harry Potter fans, I was eagerly anticipating this new expansion of the Potterverse. I jumped right in when Pottermore re-opened their quizzes and added the sorting quiz for the American School of Wizardry, Ilvermorny. I've grown with Harry Potter. I was a child when the first book was released and a young adult when the movies started coming out. Now, I'm an adult who is still very much immersed in the magic of J.K. Rowling. But, for me, "Fantastic Beasts", was a pretty big disappointment.
Disclaimer: If you haven't seen the movie yet, stop here. Do not read further. There are spoilers ahead.
The Good
So, let's start with what I did like about the film. It wasn't a complete let down. I'm not 100% a fan of Eddie Redmayne, but the movie made me re-evaluate that. I thought he was a perfectly wonderful Newt Scamander. He was awkward and strange, but also someone you could connect to, despite his less than human qualities.
Having Dan Fogler step in as a human element, and the much needed comic relief worked well for me. Though, I am a fan of most Fogler projects. So, I didn't need much arm-twisting there.
I also enjoyed the creatures. The visual effects were done well. The expanse of wildlife was impressive. The relationship Newt has to the creatures was also rather touching. The whole misunderstood wizard paired with misunderstood magical creatures concept was done nicely.
The Bad
At first, I was just mildly irritated with the movie. But, as I thought about it more, I really began to dislike it. The movie has so many pitfalls; the movie is over two hours long, and they do not bother to lay any sort of framework for this expanded universe. None at all.
If you're a Potterhead, you've probably read about this new American magical society. If not, you're lost. We have no frame of reference to understand the magical hierarchy/government that exists in America.
The Pottermore website introduces us to Ilvermorny, but the film only mentions it in passing. It's clear that American witches and wizards are different than those from the UK, but we don't know how or why they're different.
They also do not bother to explain the backstory of ANY character in the film. We see newspaper clips about Grindelwald, someone we're sort of introduced to in The Deathly Hallows, but don't really understand his character.
We know nothing about the American witches and wizards. We also know very little about our protagonist, Newt. The film teaches us that he was kicked out of school for endangering those around him, that Dumbledore has an affinity for him, that he was at some point in love with a Lestrange and that his brother was a war hero. But, we don't really understand Newt as a person, his motivations, etc.
It's very difficult to connect to anyone in the film without understanding their characters. Newt is a strange mix of awkward and affable. So, I think most viewers will like him. They just might not understand why.
The biggest drawback for me was the shoddy world building. There is barely even a foundation for this world that we now find ourselves in. As it is apart from the Hogwarts wizardry we're accustomed to, we can't make many assumptions. The world is fragile. We don't see as much magic as we're used to seeing. Though, boy can they apparate. There is a very strong Hollywood action feel to the movie and less of a magical fantastic quality that we're used to.
But, the moment that broke the fragile illusion for me was when Johnny Depp popped up as a more grown up Grindlewald. And, I heard it in the theater all around me, whispers of "Is that Johnny Depp?" or "Hey, look, Johnny Depp!" That moment effectively took everyone out of the story, the fictional world, and brought them back to reality, to Hollywood.
I will continue to watch the Fantastic Beast films, and I hope that they get better with time. But, I don't think they'll ever live up to their predecessors.
