Movie Reviews: Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

Because I watched Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, a good ten days after it's nation-wide release, I was exposed to a string of articles and videos whose titles implied that the film was not the spectacular film I anticipated it was going to be. As a result, I was a little less excited about what I might see. In hindsight though, if The Last Jedi was any indication, I should have known better than to let them influence my pre-viewing thoughts. But this I was waiting for this movie for two years and I wasn't going to make any judgments until after I saw the movie.

🚨WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD🚨

And boy did I see that movie, because of those close-ups (if that wasn't clear). I don't know if the scenes between Newt and Leta Lestrange were reshoots or if they were initially intended to be shot that way. Regardless, they were hella awkward. Made more so by Newt's constant downward glances and lack of eye-contact (which I find charming). But I'm getting ahead of myself, I should first discuss Grindelwald's escape. He was being held by MACUSA for six months when the British Ministry of Magic decided they wanted to transfer him over to Europe to answer for his crimes. During his 6-month detainment in the U.S, he was under tight security. There were a number of enchantments put in place to avoid any chance of escape (they even cut off what they thought was his* tongue because it proved to be troublesome, as he tried to persuade the guards stationed outside his jail cell to help his cause). As they were transporting Grindelwald, a series of events took place and I couldn't explain for the life of me. I know that it ultimately ended in Grindelwald's escape.

Now, this isn't going to be a summary of the film but a review, so I'll keep it short: I mildly enjoyed the film, but not as a self-declared life-long fan of Rowling's wizarding world, as the average movie-goer. I couldn't make sense of all of the events that transpired throughout the film and by the end of it, I had more questions to ask than I had answered. Ones that could have been answered if they had just been addressed properly. And also, the movie is entitled The Crimes of Grindelwald, and yet he doesn't commit a whole lot of crimes. The focus of the film was very clearly Credence and the question of his parentage. It should be re-titled No Fantastic Beasts, But The Question of Credence's Birth. As much crap I give JK over this installment, you know I'll be seeing the next one in two years.