“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” Review
(Center) Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) unites a team of unique wizards, witches and a non-magical being to take down the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald.
I love “Harry Potter.” I think it’s fair to get that out of the way. I love the books and read through them once a year, I watch the films every year and I’ve been to Universal Studios where I had a blast exploring the Wizarding World.
But when it comes to the “Fantastic Beasts” films, a series that takes place decades before any of the “Harry Potter” films, I have very mixed thoughts. I loved the first film, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” but the second installment, “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” is easily the worst film in the Wizarding World Franchise. It was very low stakes, there were so many unnecessary characters and it was very dull.
So, I walked into a screening of the third film, “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore,” with a bit of reservation. Fortunately, this is an improvement over the previous film and I actually got some enjoyment out of it. It’s not perfect and, to be honest, mostly average but it does set up strong foundations for something big in the future.
Set in 1932, five years after the previous film, the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen) is terrorizing the wizarding world by trying to start a war with the non-magical peoples of the world. The only threat to his power is Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) but they are unable to fight each other because of a magical blood pact they made long ago. So, to counter Grindelwald’s moves, Dumbledore recruits his close friend Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmanyne) and his assortment of both magical creatures and wizarding friends. Together, they must work against all odds to prevent Grindelwald from taking over the wizarding world and fulfilling his genocidal desires.
As was the case with the other “Fantastic Beasts” films, I adore this cast. Eddie Redmayne is a wonderful protagonist as a more timid hero stepping up for a good cause. His love for magical creatures is infectious and every time he uses his knowledge to work with animals, it’s always a pleasure.
Jude Law perfectly captures the essence of a younger Dumbledore and his main plan is pretty interesting. Because of how smart Grindelwald is, Dumbledore has his allies only know bits of information. So, the characters don’t know a whole lot about what they’ll be doing which puts them in the same place as the audience. While you could argue that they’re just going for another low-stakes plot like in “The Crimes of Grindelwald,” at least there’s an explanation in this film.
(From Left) While at odds in “The Crimes of Grindelwald,” brothers Theseus (Callum Turner) and Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) are both incredibly entertaining as partners in the pursuit of Grindelwald.
As for the supporting cast, they’re terrific. Newt’s brother Theseus (Callum Turner) has drastically improved from the previous film, becoming less of a stick-in-the-mud and more powerful. Newt’s assistant Bunty (Victoria Yeates) is insanely likable as this soft-spoken force to be reckoned with. A new character who joins the team is American spellcasting master Eulalie “Lally” Hicks (Jessica Williams) who is just a badass with the best disposition of anyone on the team. Her interactions with Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler), Newt’s non-magical best friend, are incredibly sweet as they strike up a friendship.
But the best performance in the film is hands down Mads Mikkelsen who is very intimidating as Gellert Grindelwald. The opening scene involving him and Dumbledore is remarkable and is one of the highlights of the film.
While I won’t get into why Johnny Depp, who played Grindelwald in the previous two films, dripped out of this franchise, I think what makes Mikkelsen better isn’t necessarily acting talent. I believe it’s because Grindelwald has a lot more to do in this film. He’s not standing on the sidelines, he’s taking charge and trying to dominate the wizarding world.
What I love so much about the “Fantastic Beasts” films is how they open up the Wizarding World past the United Kingdom from the “Harry Potter” films. In the first film, we saw how New York City was full of magic. In the second, we got to see Paris. In this film, they really open up the locations with both Berlin and Bhutan and continue to add new creatures and ideas into this ever changing universe. Don’t worry though, there are still some scenes set at Hogwarts that are very fun to watch. It’s always nice to go back to the school we all wish we got accepted to.
Mads Mikkelsen provides a charismatic but ruthless performance as dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald. The relationship he has with Dumbledore is fascinating.
While there is creativity to this film, there is still a low-stakes plot that might alienate some. However, because there’s a reason for why it’s low-stakes, Dumbledore is the only one who truly can know what’s going on, there’s a bit of freedom to have fun in this world and get to know these loveable characters better. While “Crimes of Grindelwald” had too many new characters and there was no way to get invested with all of them, it’s more minimal here which allows for the story to focus on better things.
Not all of the characters are as developed as they could have been. Creedence Barebone (Ezra Miller), a volatile and dangerous young man was poised to be a big threat to the wizarding world after he sided with Grindelwald in the last film and was revealed to be a relative of Albus Dumbledore. But he doesn’t do much. If this film is the end of his arc, it will be disappointing to say the least.
The action and the spell-casting is very creative and there are some scenes of legitimate tension. Not to mention, the pacing of the film is so much better. I went to see this film at 9:30 p.m. and I was shocked when I got out past midnight. I could have sworn it was an hour earlier. In pacing alone, “The Secrets of Dumbledore” is the best in the “Fantastic Beasts }” series.
While “The Secrets of Dumbledore” isn’t necessarily a great film, I’ve got the feeling it’s building to something big. The “Fantastic Beasts” series is supposed to last five films and, after watching the third, I said to myself “I can’t wait to see the next one.” This feeling was very much non-existent back in 2018 when I saw “The Crimes of Grindelwald.”
It’s not my favorite Wizarding World film, but I would like to see it again because of how much I love this world and these characters. I would like the overall story of these films to be better but I’ve got a feeling we’ll be getting there soon.
