Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

By: Arlene Allen

The good news about the latest installment in the Harry Potter zeitgeist is that it is a visual spectacle from start to finish. From the opening’s exciting escape scene involving magical evil flying horses to Newt’s coterie of magical creatures to Grindelwald’s depiction of his dastardly plans, it’s easy to keep your eyes riveted to the screen. But although the one hundred thirty-four-minute movie moves at breakneck speed, it is also one heck of a confusing tangle of a story.

The film opens back in London where Grindewald (Johnny Depp) is supposedly held in a secure facility (apparently forgetting that he’s a shapeshifter – minor details for these self-aggrandizing aurors). Newt (Eddie Redmayne) is back in London also trying to resume his normal life when he is visited by Queenie (Alison Sudol) and Jacob (Dan Fogler). Jacob has all of his memories back thanks to one of Queenie’s spells. This does not go over well with Newt nor with Jacob after Newt removes the spell.  Queenie storms off, but not before telling Newt that Tina (Katherine Waterston) is angry with him for getting engaged to Leta Lestrange (Zoe Kravitz). But wait, it’s not Newt who’s engaged – it’s his brother Theseus (Callum Turner)! Points to you if you even remembered Newt HAD a brother. Meanwhile, Leta is hanging around Grindelwald.

Dumbledore (Jude Law) asks Newt to head to Paris (which is apparently where all of the cool wizards are going nowadays) and take out Grindelwald for him. Good natured Newt is a bit taken aback and wonders why Dumbledore just can’t do it. Apparently, Dumbledore and Grindelwald were a bit more than good friends when they were young and made a blood pact never to harm one another.

Off Newt goes to Paris with Jacob where he runs into Tina and Leta Lestrange who are hanging with the aurors. It seems Newt did have a crush on Leta and she on him at one time. Meanwhile, in Paris everyone is trying to find out exactly who Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller) is because he is supposedly going to play a huge part in either Dumbledore’s or Grindelwald’s plan. Are you totally confused yet?  If not, you will be because there are dozens more characters and quite a few plot twists that I dare not go anywhere near mentioning. It’s like you need a Fantastic Beasts wiki just to keep up with everyone and all of the storylines!

Johnny Depp is great in the film. He plays Grindelwald cold and hard, with no drunken postures or silly expressions. He is at his most chilling when describing his plan for the Muggles or No-Maj’s and it can’t be coincidence that scenes from World War II are playing all around the rotunda he’s giving his speech in. Eddie Redmayne is a delight to watch, especially when handling his beasts, but he’s out of his league as an action hero. And Tina and Queenie, who were so charming and compelling in the first movie, are barely even likeable here. Zoe Kravitz as Leta has more screen presence.

If you’re thinking of taking younger Potter fans to see this fil, know that this is a very dark installment, with a very high death count. Sometimes it’s even hard to figure out who are the good guys (the aurors are very cruel). The film reminded me of The Empire Strikes Back in many ways, notably because the good guys don’t exactly win in the end.

So, yes, it is beautiful and fun to look at – as most Wizarding World films are but don’t expect a lot from the storyline unless you are into confusing hot messes. Hopefully, the third film will redeem the second and set a better tone for the rest of the quintet.