Fantastic Beasts Movie Review - A magical wonder

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
U/A: Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Director: David Yates
Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Johnny Depp, Jude Law
Rating:

Warner Bros and JK Rowling's attempts to capture the Young Adult Market with the Fantastic Beasts adaptation are proving to be nearly as productive a goldmine as their previous collaboration - the Harry Potter series. In this second in the purportedly 5 movie outing for the Fantastic Beasts, magical creature franchise J.K. Rowling gets Magizoologist Newt Scamander(Eddie Redmayne) to join forces with young Albus Dumbledore( Jude Law) to prevent the devious Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) from raising pure-blood wizards to rule over all non-magical beings. The Potter maniacs will obviously be thrilled with the fairly frequent parleys into Hogwarts with Dumbledore. The first, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' was a little ponderous with its attempts to fashion a sort of origin story for the series and therefore took a little time getting into stride but this one doesn't suffer from that malady.

It's 1927, six months after the first film ends and New York authorities 'magic' governing council have imprisoned shape-shifting Grindelwald. But Grindelwald escapes flying through the night sky riding a carriage drawn by Thestrals. Newts brother Theseus (Calum Turner) who is now engaged to Newts former girlfriend Leta Lestrange (Zoe Kravitz), Tina (Katherine Waterston), her sister, Queenie(Alison Sudol), Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller), Jacob (Dan Fogler) and the menagerie of colourful creature, sidekicks and opponents add more power to the mystique here.

Check out the trailer here:

The author's enchanted formula fitted into a David Yates fancy fantasy narrative with spell-binding special effects has the visual power to awe you. This sequel is darkly drawn with a stronger distinction between good and evil and has enough meat for the fans and followers to wax eloquent even if after a point it all seems a little tedious. Even the relationships seem a little more enigmatic with unexplained shadowy depths - allowing for further delineation as the series moves forward. The characters have a mysterious bent and are more vivid here. The actors stick to their briefs even if it means looking shallow and inept. This is a magical realm filled-up by prodigious imagination and sterling craft. You need to see it to believe!

Also Read: Rowling Loves Dumbledore's Character From The Fantastic Beast Series

Catch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates