Just came back from watching the 2nd part of the five-part Fantastic Beasts series, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. After having watched all the Harry Potter movies and the Fantastic Beasts part 1, I would say that the movie was not up to the mark.
Director: David Yates
Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Zoe Kravitz, Ezra Miller, Katherine Waterston, Callum Turner, Claudia Kim, Alison Sudol, Dan Fogler
Rating: 3/5
Unlike the Happy Potter movies and even the first part of the Fantastic Beasts movie which gives us some happy vibes, this movie was dark. It also had many adult themes. Also, if you haven’t seen the Harry Potter series you may not follow the plot of the film.
Many critics are saying that The Crimes of Grindelwald is the weakest entry in the Potter film series. For me, to some extent it is. The film has many unnecessary additions and characters that might be annoying to the die-hard fans. With most of its characters somehow related to the characters of the Harry Potter series, the film was more of a Harry Potter prequel than a Fantastic Beasts sequel.
The Movie opens with Grindelwald escaping the Ministry of Magic. We also get to see the that Grindelwald was not another Voldemort, but a lot more than that. It shows us that Grindelwald has a heart, unlike Voldemort and has a reason for his craziness. It shows us for what “Greater Good” he was doing all those. The film also introduces us to many new places like the Ministry of magic in France and the Wizarding Circus. We also get a glimpse of the Ministry of magic in London.
Claudia Kim and Ezra Miller as Nagini and Credence
The movies also introduce us to some new characters about whom it was mentioned in the first part of the Fantastic Beasts series, like Leta Lestrange and Theseus Scamander. The main plot of the film, however, revolves around Credence and his true identity. The film tells us how he is linked to some of the main characters of the film including Leta Lestrange. I myself was expecting some backstory on Nagini, as it was a great revelation in the trailer. But in the film, there was hardly any. It also shows the strong bond between Nagini and Credence. Leta was also of the most important character in the film. But revealing how would be a great spoiler. So go and watch the film to know.
The Flim also contains a lot of plot twists. My favorite was the last and final plot twist. It also reveals why Dumbledore was not willing to fight Grindelwald, and no it was not actually because of love.
Many new beasts were shown in this film. Some of the old beasts return as well, including the Niffler, which is one of my favorites.
JK Rowling is one of the greatest authors the world has ever seen, but Crimes of Grindelwald was pretty mediocre if compared to the original series.
Overall I would suggest go and watch the film after watching the first part of the Fantastic Beasts: Where to find them.
I am egerly looking forward to the upcoming films of this series and hope that will be a lot better and exciting then this one.