Last week, my boyfriend and I went to see the new Harry Potter world movie "Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them". I've heard differing opinions on the movie- some people said that it was horrible and others deemed it to be just as good, if not better than, the actual Harry Potter movies. I think I'm in the middle of this argument and here's why. For those of you who haven't seen the movie and are planning on watching it, I don't suggest reading the rest of this due to the spoilers throughout the review.
First off, the acting was alright. I thought Johnny Depp was a horrible choice for "Mr. Graves". Most of the cast was lesser known actors and actresses with the exception of Colin Farrell and Johnny Depp. This isn't Johnny's typical Tim Burtonesque film style making it odd that he made an appearance. I think that Kowalski's character was spot on. He was perfectly goofy and represented the "no-maj" community well! The ending scene in the bakery is a great wrap up to his character.
Secondly, some of the plot line was pretty predictable, even as a person who had never read the original book. It was set up early on that Graves was using Credence. I called from the beginning that one of the Second Salem children would be the Obscurus. I also called that Graves would be Grindelwald. My boyfriend and I agreed that some of the best parts were with Newt and his gang running around New York City looking for these crazy creatures. We personally liked (and slightly related to) the little mole looking beast that was attracted to shiny objects.
Third, the movie left so many questions. Personally, I would've liked to have seen more of a back story with the Second Salem children: it looked super suspicious that Graves and Credence looked so alike (familial relations?). I would've liked to have known a little more about Leta Lestrange or Newt's backstory from England; what made him choose beasts? How does he feel about having a famous brother? What happened to the real Graves? What's the story behind Newt getting thrown out of Hogwarts? Seems to be too much like why Hagrid was expelled. Hopefully, some of these questions will be answered in one of the next 4 movies.
Overall, despite all my problems with the casting and plot fails, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. It stayed well within the Wizarding World premises already set up by Harry Potter's adventures, yet was set in the 1920's. I liked the way the ending was shaped to give the main 4 characters further development to their stories without being too far out of reach. I cannot wait for the next movie to come out!
