Meh? Great? Or utterly awful?
Okay, I am going to do a lot of nitpicking in this review, so I just want to start off by saying that I absolutely loved this movie, it was epic and tragic and twisted and everything I hoped it would be.
Beasts?
My number one complaint is that the movie is called "Fantastic Beasts" and that I would have liked to see a lot more variety of beasts in this movie. Nifflers and Bowtruckles are great and all but I want to see MORE. Other than that, the only creatures we got in this movie were the Kelpie and the Zouwu, which were both incredibly cool, don't get me wrong, but I wanted more. And not just more mythical creatures, but more of them having to do with the story line. I was expecting Grindelwald to want to possess Newt's creatures to add to his army, but really, other than the Niffler in the end, the beasts did not have a massive amount of effect on the plot.
While we are on the topic of beasts, the Zouwu was really interesting, I loved it. The scene where it helps Newt, Tina and Leta escape was amazing. The only real problem I had involving the Zouwu was how it got so entranced by the cat toy. I know that was all for comedic effect and I thought it was kind of cute, but I mostly thought it was stupid.
Characters
Now let's talk characters. New characters first. I loved Leta. Zoe Kravitz did an amazing job with that role.
Nagini. I was excited to see what we got from this mysterious addition after seeing the reveal in the trailer but then... we didn't get very much. She liked Credence and was trying to keep him a good person and... that was pretty much it. If I could choose one single character I want more from in the next installment, it would be Nagini, I wanted so much more than I got and while this movie delivered in many areas, it fell a little short with the character of Nagini, especially after all of the hype and buildup online that exploded after the trailer. The Nicholas Flamel appearance was completely unexpected and I loved it. I gasped so loudly when they made that reveal that I'm pretty sure the whole theater heard me. At the end of the first movie, I wasn't so on board with Johnny Depp playing Grindelwald. For me, when you have someone that famous playing a role, it is difficult to see them as the character they are portraying and not the actor they are. In this movie, I totally got on board with him playing Grindelwald, I saw him as the character and hated his guts. He did a great job.
Minor character rant here: What on earth was the point of Newt's helper lady, Bunty or Bundy or whatever her name was? I expected her to turn on Newt and hand his creatures over to Grindelwald or steal them or something, but none of that happened. She did nothing but get bit by a Kelpie. She was utterly useless and a waste of screen time. To the actress who played her, I have nothing against you or your performance, you didn't write yourself a pointless role.
Plot
Okay, now for a mix of more character chat and plot talk. I have to say that right now, this is my second highest complaint next to the mythical creature one I started with: this creation suffered severely from sagging middle syndrome. The opening was about as suspenseful and intense as an opening scene can be and the ending OH MY GODS. As for the middle, it was just kind of... eh. Who knows, maybe it was good, I just did not value it enough because of the splendid beginning and end, but I thought that the middle could have been better.
Tina and Newt, when they were retrieving the Lestrange family records, they were both very well aware of how crucial their situation was and knew they had limited time and yet the moment they made it into the vault they decided to stop what they were doing and have a slow, deep conversation about their relationship that apparently couldn't have waited until after they had gotten the information necessary to save their asses and Credence.
Since we are on the topic of relationships here, let's talk about Jacob and Queenie. Jacob has always been great. However, I have never been the biggest fan of Queenie. She was always too flouncy for my taste, although I do think her mind reading powers are awesome. Therefore, when she turned and joined Grindelwald, I was sad because obviously I didn't want her to ditch our MC group, but it also made me really excited for everything to come with her, evil Queenie is something I eagerly await in the next installment. What sorts of new threats will Grindelwald be able to pose now that he has a seducing mind reader on his side?
Nostalgia
Being back at Hogwarts was a rush of emotion that I was not expecting. I never saw any of the Harry Potter movies in theaters, I was only 8 when the final movie came out. Despite that, Harry Potter was my childhood, the books were my everything and so were the movies that I have since watched many, many times. I obviously knew that we would be brought back to Hogwarts from seeing the trailer but when that castle shot came and the Hogwarts theme started up I got so nostalgic and excited all at the same time in a wave of feeling I was not expecting. At all.
Ending
Speaking of not expecting things at all, the end reveal is quite possibly the most epic and well-done reveal in any of the Potter/Fantasitc Beasts films. I don't think that anyone was expecting that. Like Queenie, but not exactly the same scenario, I was horrified when Credence joined Grindelwald but that turn is going to add so much more to the next movie.
Explanation
I would have liked it if the movie had explained some things more for those of us who are not die-hard Potterheads. I am one, however, my parents may like Harry Potter but they do not have overly extensive knowledge of it, so most of the plot went right over their heads and they were both filled with questions after the show. I can't imagine that I am the only one with this problem. I understood everything perfectly fine and the movie was plenty long enough (not that I had a problem with that, I love long movies but I know that some people get antsy after a while, no matter how incredible a movie is) but I also think that there are a lot of people out there who are going to be in need of more information.
So, overall, yes, the buildup took its sweet time and there were little errors here and there that I am positive are only me picking this thing apart, that hardly affect my total view of this movie. The astounding beginning and enthralling ending along with the breathtaking cinematography, stunning twists and turns and betrayals and shocking reveals made up for any and all of the bits that fell short in the middle. This creation of art is a wonderful one and I can hardly wait for the next one.
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