Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore [Review]
By: Mithrandiel
When it comes to fantasy movies, Lord of the Rings will always own the lion's share of my heart. Yet, there's a particular itch that gets scratched whenever I re-watch the early Harry Potter films - maybe it's the telltale theme song/soundtrack, or the beloved characters, or the longing to have been sent away for 7 years to the coolest boarding school ever before transitioning into a full-time career tracking down evil magic-users.
Whatever it is, the Harry Potter franchise has certainly earned a key spot in the shared consciousness of nerds everywhere. The frequent ramblings of a certain author not withstanding, the world of Harry Potter continues to evolve, grow, and drift away from its roots as the fandom has taken it on like an adoptive child that fled an abusive home.
When the Fantastic Beasts franchise kicked off back in 2016 (insane that 6 years have passed already...!) Potter-heads were delighted. A chance to return to the Wizarding World in a new and exciting way - a prequel that could flesh out the broader history of the world before The Boy Who Lived took center stage. And indeed, with Eddie Redmayne at the helm as an uncharacteristic lead in the form of soft-spoken, socially awkward Magizoologist Newt Scamander, a new generation of fans was born. Granted, not with the same fervor that the original books and films commanded, but a renewed interest nonetheless.
Now entering its 3rd installment, The Secrets of Dumbledore is navigating the notable absence of Johnny Depp, who generated a significant amount of buzz and excitement in the early days of the franchise taking on the role of the talented wizard Gellert Grindelwald - a contemporary of the famous Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. Grindelwald is poised to present the greatest threat the Wizarding has ever seen (well...the greatest threat the wizarding world has ever seen so far), and yet an old blood-oath between he and Dumbledore, forged during their canonically confirmed romance, presents either of them from acting against the other directly. So, they both take on proxies to do their work for them. Dumbledore employs Newt Scamander and a rag-tag group of wizards, and non-wizards alike.
That's right - everyone's favorite aspiring baker, Jacob Kowalski, employs his skills (?) alongside Newt once again in service to Professor Dumbledore. Still heartbroken over his wizard-girlfriend Queenie taking off with Grindelwald, Jacob proves his worth and pure-heartedness by stepping in to save a perfect stranger, who happens to be the Professor of Charms for Hogwarts - Lally Hicks. She reveals she's actually there to recruit Jacob in their fight against Grindelwald. Newt's brother (Theseus), and assistant (Bunty), as well as the late Leta Lestrange's half brother Yusuf Kama round out the adventuring party.
The characters are all very likeable: Kowalski is endearing as always, Scamander's soft-spoken heroism and idealism is heartwarming, Lally is intense and impressive...they're all lovely, really. Well, with the exception of Yusuf Kama, who spends the majority of the movie appearing thoroughly shifty before doing precisely what you expect him to do.
The major weakness of the film isn't in its characters, nor the familiar and enchanting world, but is instead manifested in two ways: the delivery of an increasingly muddled plot, and the Fantastic Beasts continuing struggle to determine who their audience is.
The story of the Fantastic Beasts franchise has lost its way. They literally could have made a trilogy of Newt wandering around the Wizarding world meeting cool animals and dealing with arcane poachers, with plenty of opportunity for Hogwarts visits and Easter eggs to keep Potterheads engaged. Instead, the attempt at expanding the history of this world has become needlessly complex. With three movies under its belt and at least two more en route, it's hard to see how the confrontation with Grindelwald effectively fills another 4-5 hours of content. It didn't leave me excited for what's to come.
In addition, the Fantastic Beasts films still seems to struggle with who their audience is. Secrets of Dumbledore swings wildly from the dark and disturbing to the silly and nonsensical. There are certainly arguments to be made for either direction to be pursued: appealing to the nostalgia of older fans or hoping to draw in a new generation of younger ones. It doesn't commit to either, and instead the attempt to take both halves out of the middle leaves the overall tone inconclusive.
Overall, there is plenty to like about Fantastic Beasts, the performances and the world chief among them. However, without some serious course-corrections, I'm not sure how much longer the excitement will last.
