Like many Harry Potter fans over Thanksgiving break, I went to the movie theatre to see "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald." I was not a huge fan of the first movie but I enjoyed it nonetheless and was very excited to see the second installment. Needless to say, when the ending credits started rolling, my reaction was mostly a resounding, "What the heck did I just watch."
First of all, let me just say that I went into this movie fully wanting to like it. And, I did think it had cool moments. But, for the most part I found it extremely disappointing. I doubt I will watch it again in the future.
Firstly, THERE WAS NO PLOT. I don't know how the script was able to make it through without at least one person telling J.K. Rowling that there was really no clear arc or story for the audience to follow. If you asked me what the film was about, I would have no idea what to say to you because I don't even know myself. The only thing I could come up with was that Credence (who is somehow magically still alive,) is looking for his family in Paris. That's it. That's all I got.
There seemed to be no basic structure for the film, with many random subplots and forgettable supporting characters. Most of the dialogue was just explaining a ton of exposition that the audience didn't need nor want, which just created further confusion.
Secondly, IT WAS SO DANG DARK. And yes, I know that the latter few Harry Potter movies had quite a dark style to them, but for the most part, the Harry Potter world created in the books was fun and joyful and engaging. That's why we all loved it so much. Even in the first Fantastic Beasts movie there was a good balance of action and humor, which made us fall in love with the characters (especially Jacob and Queenie, both of whom get ruined in this film.)
There was basically no happiness or humor in this film. The whole tone for the movie was gray. Which I think is a shame especially because the movie is set in 1920s Paris which is one of the coolest time periods I can think of. There were so many opportunities for amazing sets and costumes that were just completely thrown out the window, which I found deeply disappointing.
Thirdly, THERE WERE SO MANY INACCURACIES IT WAS JUST SILLY. Look, I understand that the magical world is made up and therefore we have to suspend our disbelief no matter what, but there were several errors in this film that were just downright stupid. The list is very long but I will just point out a couple of the most noticeable ones.
Number one, McGonagall is a professor in this movie? In the 1920s? When she was supposed to be born in the 1930s???Whatever.
Number two, Dumbledore is not a defense against the dark arts teacher! He's a freaking transfiguration teacher! Whyyyyy change this?
This only scratches the surface of the reactions fans have had about this movie, but I just wanted to sum up some of my biggest problems with the movie so that hopefully the third installment will be a heck of a lot better than the second. This is a pretty long franchise with five movies in total, so if we are gonna keep this going, we'd better bring it back to what people love most in movies. Lovable characters, a strong plot and a good adventure.
