We all returned to the galaxy of Star Wars with the prequels. We came back to Middle-Earth with The Hobbit trilogy. Now, audiences
worldwide have returned to the Wizarding World with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
I
have to be honest, I was a little skeptical when I heard this movie was going
to be produced. But upon seeing that J.K. Rowling was writing it, my hopes were
rekindled. Now that I’ve seen it, it was pretty good, but it could have been
better.
First
of all, the positives. This whole concept of a wizard, Newt Scamander,
capturing and protecting magical beasts is supremely intriguing. All the
creatures he comes across are, well, magical, and a testament of the rich and
detailed world Rowling has created. And talking about her world, now we can
take a peek at the Wizarding community in the United States. This isn’t just a
retread of the world we saw in Harry
Potter. We’re no longer in Hogwarts or England anymore. In Fantastic Beasts, we are introduced to a
world that’s both different and familiar to us. I would love to see Rowling
delve into other countries or schools in any future stories. The possibilities
are endless!
Now, on to what’s not so great. The direction. David
Yates is certainly a talented director. He makes great-looking films and pulls
very adequate performances from his actors. However, to me, he comes around as
cold. I felt like several of the scenes weren’t really connecting with me. They
needed some extra boost to give them the emotional punch they required. For
instance, the film needs a much better musical score. Several scenes go on for
too long without musical accompaniment. They drag the movie down. And some
scenes have a completely inadequate musical score. For example, there’s one
scene where Newt tries to catch a rhinoceros-like creature. The musical score
in that scene felt completely out of place; it didn’t capture the wonder and intensity
the scene was trying to convey.
I
think David Yates is at his best when directing more somber material, as
opposed to something whimsical. Some of the best scenes in the movie are the
dark stuff. I was actually a bit shocked by how dark this movie was. I expected
it to be a more child-friendly introduction to this new series, but I was
wrong. And granted, Yates manages to carry out these scenes very well.
However,
I can say that Yates is improving as a fantasy director. While some of the more
fantastic and creature-oriented scenes of the movie are a mixed bag, some of them
are absolutely astounding. The scene where the gang encounters the Occamy is
very tense and exciting. But by far, my two favorites scenes of the movie are
when Newt Scamander shows his muggle friend the creatures he carries in his bag
and the end scene where the “magical eagle” creature flies over the city. Those
scenes are absolutely astounding and they’re what I think Harry Potter is all about.
Additionally, while I do like the whole concept this
series is going for, I do think the story in this first installment needed a little
more work. Without giving too much away, it felt like there were two different
stories going on. One is the story of Newt getting his creatures back, and the
other is the story of the strange magical occurrences that are plaguing New
York City. I felt like there wasn’t too much connection between these two
plotlines. I can see Rowling tried to connect both of them at some point, but
ultimately I felt that they didn’t mesh together very well. But perhaps I
missed something, who knows. Maybe another viewing will help clear this up for
me.
Overall,
I thoroughly liked Fantastic Beasts and
Where to Find Them. It’s great to see J.K. Rowling back to her magical
world after a ten-year break. She’s still got it and I’m very excited to see
what she has in store for us in the next entries. I don’t think Fantastic Beasts is quite the magical
introduction Sorcerer’s Stone was,
but that’s not to take anything away from it one bit. After all, that was a
pretty hard act to follow.
My Rating:
3.5 out of 5 Stars
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