We’ve come a long way since the days of Harry Potter, the boy who vanquished Voldemort over eight films. Those films felt like a cultural event, a shift in the moviegoing experience for families across the world. The Fantastic Beasts series soon took over the franchise in the hope of re-creating that same magic and yet feeling fresh and new at the same time. The first Fantastic Beasts film did a great job at balancing the tones between old and new, but by the second film there was something missing and lacking from the franchise. So the question is, does this film put the franchise back on track?
Unfortunately, this third film, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, has had some troubles behind-the-scenes such as the recasting of Grindelwald as well as a few other things that I won’t go into detail over. Saying that though, the re-casting of Mads Mikkelsen gives Grindelwald much more humanity than Johnny Depp’s cold portrayal of him. The love story between Grindelwald and Dumbledore feels more viable and the focus of the film feels very much centred on this relationship. This comes at a cost as the other storylines, especially Ezra Miller’s Credence plot-line, becomes secondary which is a shame as they’ve been the main focus in the previous films.
The one thing that The Secrets of Dumbledore does better than the previous films is with the wand battles. The Harry Potter series shone with the kinetic action sequences of the wizarding duels, and these sequences make a welcome return in this film, especially with the climax of the film which feels as big and as epic as you would expect from this franchise. The cinematography also reflects this change with a lot more varied locations and magical tricks with the camera transporting you into this magical world.
There is a lot of nostalgia and callbacks to the Harry Potter films as well, with trips to Hogsmede, Hogwarts and returning characters such as another Hogwarts professor and Dumbledore’s brother, Aberforth, played brilliantly by Richard Coyle. Sadly it feels like nostalgia just for the sake of nostalgia with no necessary reason for revisiting these locations apart from taking a respite from the main story.
The cast and the creatures in this film are another highlight, with Eddie Redmayne perfectly cast as Newt Scamander and his antics and heroism proving that he is one of the most honourable characters in the franchise. Dan Fogler and Alison Sudol return as Jacob and Queenie and their love story picks up from where it left off in the previous film. There are some new and returning creatures as well, with one of them being an integral to the plot of the film. It wouldn’t be a Fantastic Beasts film without any magical creatures after all. With so much going on this film feels packed full of new and returning stories, creating a very bloated film.
★★★☆☆
3/5
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore decides to put the focus on Dumbledore and Grindelwald’s relationship instead of Credence’s trauma and turmoil. This results in making the film feel uneven in terms of plot but luckily the other character arcs and the creature antics pull the film together. The Secrets of Dumbledore is a step in the right direction, but it needs to learn to keep itself distant from the Harry Potter series as this is when it tries to be new and distinctive and where the heart of the film shines through.
Thanks for reading today’s blog!
Alex Murray, the Head of Eyesight Productions
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