Fantastic Beasts

I never thought I would be hugely excited about a new series set in the Potterverse, but Fantastical Beasts has continuously impressed with its design, marketing and concept. Luckily the film genuinely stood up to all of those expectations. The beasts are actually fantastic, the action is impressive, and the world-building remains as magical as the main series. Honestly, I don't really have many negative comments at all.

Getting to view a new part of the wizarding world was exciting and the clever use of a (wonderfully portrayed) "No-Mag" as the foil through whose eyes the wonder of the audience could be expressed worked seamlessly. I never really expected anything else, but it was great to see how different and diverse the American witches and wizards were compared to their more familiar British counterparts. The film also managed to create a nice balance between referencing the original series just enough to feel connected without ramming it down our throats (*cough*Hobbit*cough*).

Dan Fogler may have been the standout performance, but the whole cast works wonderfully. I never doubted Eddie Redmayne, nor Colin Farrell, but both bring truly brilliant performances (Redmayne admittedly more so) to the table, and Ezra Miller and Katherine Waterstone only help round out an impressive cast.

The plot isn't too imaginative, though it retains its twists and turns neatly and had far more depth to it than the trailers belied. Again, Fantastic Beasts finds itself in debt, really, to the continued expansion of its lore through Pottermore and other side projects that Rowling has worked on since the main series ended.

The one instance which felt like a true nostalgia trip, rather than an exciting exploration of regions unknown, were the beasts themselves. Here, once again, serious credit must go to the attention of detail present throughout the film. Each beast feels real, with truly exceptional CGI throughout, even those whose illustrations appeared too abstract to work. Indeed, this may have been the first instance of a film where the practical creature effects were noticeable in their lack of life in comparison to the CGI offerings (despite remaining exceptional themselves).

In reality, my only disappointment is that the beasts were not centre stage more often, though on the flip side getting the time to study some (such as the stage stealing Niffler) to greater detail was immensely rewarding. There is definitely a rich and expansive world here left to explore. Which is lucky, given four more films are on the horizon... a prospect that now fills me with excitement rather than trepidation!

The Fantastic Beasts series continues to have a central problem: this is no longer a story even faintly connected to Newt Scamander (with the exception that they have forced his character into it) and yet they are stuck with the title. The result is an annoying mashup between what could have been a more adult telling of a wizarding war and a mild-mannered Ace Ventura's wacky adventures. And the most annoying part about that is that either of these premises would have worked infinitely better as a seperate entity!

Give me the timeline where we were given a series of Indiana Jones style adventures, starring Eddie Redmayne as the likeable but socially awkward Scamander, trekking the globe in search of fantastical creatures and ultimately getting himself caught up in secret societies, local politics, etc. etc.

And in this timeline, let there be an entire Wizarding Universe, with a second series called something like the Secrets of Dumbledore, focusing on a young Albus Dumbledore and his lover-turned-enemy, Grindelwald. A timeline where Mads Mikkelsen was cast immediately to play alongside a Jude Law that can settle on an accent for longer than a single scene, where the focus is their passionate belief in one another being torn apart by their opposing ethical viewpoints. Make it nuanced, and emotional, and more than a little gay.

I want that timeline. The timeline where these two completely seperate ideas weren't arbitrarily mashed together so that they could bank on a recognisable (barely) book title. Because in that universe we might have some Potterverse films that are actually coherent and interesting.

But alas, here we are in our chimeric universe (and not just because of the onscreen creatures) where we have to forfeit character development (or even introductions) in order to fit in some admittedly very funny sequence where Newt rescues his brother from prison by proving that his hips can lie and do so extremely convincingly 😂 A universe where we have a brilliant piece of (I believe) original creature design with a bird that uses a helium sack for vertical lift-off and then deflates itno two broad wings (I loved this transition, so cleverly done) that gets about two minutes of screen time and is never mentioned again, because the main focus is an international war that appears to be happening without any clear inciting instance.

Which isn't to say that this is a terrible film. I love the casting; I think the action is stunningly crafted; the creatures are all fascinating; and I actually really enjoyed the whole "how do you defeat an enemy that can see the future" twisting plotline, including the final showdown. It's just that none of the plot threads gets enough room to breath, let alone develop, and it results in a jumbled mess of good ideas that is more than a little frustrating. And isn't it oh-so useful how every dangerous situation Newt gets into somehow involves another creature. (Also, I get that Jacob has kinda proven his ability to keep their secret, but did I miss some moment where he was pardoned? Isn't he still liable to be arrested in the US for simply knowing the wizarding world exists? And what was up with the whole "I'm a Dumbledore" plotline that fizzled out to nothing..?)

Good ideas, poor execution, but better than the previous attempt.