Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald Entertains Despite Somewhat Uneven Storytelling

      Few franchises experience the good fortune and lasting appeal that J.K Rowling's Harry Potter series has endured as a worldwide phenomenon, both in the form of international best-selling literature as well as a critically acclaimed blockbuster movie franchise. With the Fantastic Beasts film series, the intent was always that the same kind of lightning and excitement from fans that made the Harry Potter series a global hit would strike twice with the prequel series of books leading up to The Sorcerers Stone. The first film Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, proved itself to be the prequel that fans were hoping it to be both in terms of quality and box office. It succeeded in introducing newer characters who stem from the same world, while building up connections to the later stories involving Harry Potter and Dumbledore. With Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald, the filmmakers aim to bridge the two stories even closer together with a follow-up to the 2016 film, that's even darker and more intense than the first chapter. Whereas Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them boasted a straight-forward narrative, which made it relatively easy for both fans and non-fans to understand and enjoy it, The Crimes Of Grindelwald possesses a more uneven narrative that doesn't quite feel as well-executed and put together as its predecessor despite still managing to be a strong follow up to that film, along with possessing some of the older films magic.

      The plot for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald continues from where the previous film left off in J.K Rowling's Wizarding World series. The new installment has magizoologist Newt Skamander (Played by The Theory Of Everything's Eddie Redmayne) and his loyal companion (Dan Fogler) traveling to Paris in hopes of preventing a dark wizard (Played by Johnny Depp) from leading all the pureblooded wizards in an attempt to take over the world, along with ruling over all non-magical people. The first Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them worked well in regards to building off the mythology of the Harry Potter story, while creating its own new spinoff of films that remain interesting with intriguing characters. The film was not only visually stunning to watch but had humor, heart, and strong performances from a talented cast that brought a fresh dose of energy and excitement to the story. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald retains much of the elements that made the previous film work so well with the films scenery once again being breathtaking to watch with the majestical feel of the universe remaining intact. The cast of Grindelwald once again shines through the material despite the films narrative finding itself struggling to remain focused in certain areas. What the new film does well that keeps it from being a major disappointment after a solid beginning to the prequel series, is it continues the world building that the previous film initiated along with raising the stakes for the characters in the story. The film settles for a darker and more mature tone compared to the first Fantastic Beasts, which could be summed up as being a fun-filled story from start to finish. The main issue with the new Fantastic Beasts is despite successfully relaunching the Harry Potter franchise from a different perspective, the newer series runs into the issue of it not being sure exactly where it wants to go next with the films story with subplots feeling like they're all over the place, ultimately resulting in creating more unnecessary mandering rather than moving the story along in a fashion that's both exciting and thrilling. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald is a film that had all the potential of surpassing its predecessor in every aspect of its storytelling, yet it ends up feeling less satisfying of a film in terms of its overall storytelling despite having enough of what made the previous film work to make it a reasonably satisfying effort.

      As far as the films acting goes, the performances are key to bringing the Fantastic Beasts storyline to life in a way that's both believable and convincing. The cast is extremely well put together and make the most of the roles given to them, even if some of the key characters from the previous film feel like they've been brushed aside here with the main example being Eddie Redmayne's character Newt. Redmayne once again delivers a strong performance with his character despite him being sidelined in the films middle portion. There's a sense of fun, goofiness, and wonder about his character which was introduced in the previous film, that appears to be absent here with his character feeling more straight-forward and bland given the newer films tone (Still Redmayne manages to deliver and make the best of the material given to him). Johnny Depp delivers a strong performance in the role of the films main antagonist Gindelwald, an infamous and powerful dark wizard who causes mass violence, terror and chaos around the globe. Depp brings his A game to the part with him portraying the character as being dark and eccentric, making him fall in line with the unique style of characters he generally plays. Jude Law not only impresses but proves to be a perfect fit as a young, wise, and manipulative Dumbledore with him resembling Richard Harris version of the character moreso than Michael Gambon. Dan Fogler reprises his role from the first film as Newt's loyal friend Jacob Kowalski, a No-Maj veteran of World War l as well as the primary love interest to Queenies character. Fogler returns and once again delivers a likable and charming performance with his character. His chemistry with Redmayne remains spot on with the two working well together in the previous film. Alison Sudol also returns and shines once again as both Newt's friend and Jacob's lover Queenie Goldstein. Ezra Miller also reprises as the severely abused and disturbed Aurelius Dumbledore/Credence Barebone. He does a convincing job of playing a character, whose essentially fed up with people's overall treatment of him. His character played a significant role in the previous films third act with his role being expanded here, mostly due to the subplot involving him being sought by Gindelwald. Zoe Kravitz impresses as Newt's emotionally damaged and confusing ex- lover, who still exerts some form of control over him despite showcasing mixed feelings. Other notable supporting cast roles are Katherine Waterston as Tina Goldstein, a promoted Auror for the Magical Congress of the United States Of America. Carmen Ejogo reprises her role from the previous film as Madame President of the MCUSA Seraphina Picquery, though her role here is limited compared to the last film. Other noteworthy supporting roles in the film are Callum Turner as Newt's older brother Theseus Scamander, Claudia Kim as Nagini, the main attraction of a wizarding circus and freak show called Circus Arcanus, with a blood curse that can permanently transform her into a snake, and William Nadylam as a French-Senegalese wizard named Yusuf Kama. Whereas the film has issues that pertain to the way it tells its story, the same can't be said for its cast as everyone delivers performances that are not only convincing, but well-crafted and show the actors obvious enthusiasm for being apart of the franchise. The films casting along with the actors performances are a key reason the newer Harry Potter franchise has been as successful as it's achieved thus far.

      On a directorial note, David Yates who helmed previous installment as well as other films in the Harry Potter franchise such as Order Of The Phoenix, Half-Blooded Prince, and Deathly Hallows Part 1 and 2, returns to the directing chair for The Crimes Of Grindenwald and further expands the world building of the new series universe with an atmosphere, that serves as being both dark and visually stunning  One thing that can be said about Yates directing with the series, is how he's able to bring the world of the books to life on the big screen in a way which makes them feel real and dazzling. Here he doesn't disappoint on that end, but allows the story to be rather unfocused compared to the previous film. The use of CGI in the film also feels heavier in usage compared to the first Fantastic Beasts despite appearing to be impressive, particularly the look of the magical creatures. Where Yates excels as a director is building the trust of the audience in allowing him to take the material that J.K Rowling writes and bring her groundbreaking Wizarding World to the big screen. An example of Yates compatibility as a director of Rowling's work is the films stunning opening sequence that's exciting, breathtaking to watch visually, and immediately draws the audience into the story. As a chase scene, its brilliantly well done and one of the main highlights of the newer series of Harry Potter films thus far. Yates skillfulness as a director of the series is accompanied by the films technical elements such as its stellar cinematography, that captures the beautiful imagery in the wizarding world. In addition to the film being well-shot, its set and costume designs go hand in hand with putting the audience in the scene with the characters. As far as the films editing goes, the story tends to feel both long and drawn-out at times when the narrative detours from the main plot to set up characters and events with the intent of being explored in later films. The adding of in depth backstories for certain characters tended to feel rather unnecessary and ultimately resulted in making the plot harder to follow narratively speaking. That's the total opposite of the previous film where the audience was able to follow the characters of Newt and Jacob with Newt attempting to rectify the problems created by the opening of his suitcase. Whereas Yates remains a strong director for the series as a whole in regards to bringing the story from page to screen in a way that feels both real and convincing, he struggles in regards to keeping the narrative focused on the characters that made the original a hit with audiences.

      The films screenplay by J.K Rowling despite being detailed and overall workable, hands down poses the films strongest issues in regards to its storytelling. Outside of the audience focusing on the character of Newt, Grindelwald, or Dumbledore, the story isn't as interesting nor as engaging as it was the previous time around with the films main issue being its uneven narrative. The script does far too many shifting around with characters and subplots, that it often confuses audiences in regards to them understanding what is happening with the general narrative along with slowing the films pacing. The film is basically a story about how a sociopathic individual essentially manipulated good people into committing atrocities with both the era of the story, as well as the character of Gindelwald himself sharing direct parallels with 1930's Germany. The films screenplay carries with it themes not just pertaining to magic but those of revenge, freedom, siblings, family, regret, discovering one's family tree, one's lust for power, and doing what is right for no other reason other than the simple virtrue of it being right. The films ultimate message that J.K Rowling drives home with her script as convulted as it comes across, is that it's never too late to unburden oneself from past regret and guilt. The biggest problem with the films script is that it feels like it tries to have everything crammed into it with the film setting up elements for future installments rather than just focus on the plot at hand. Whereas the story for the first Fantastic Beasts wasn't anything groundbreaking in particular, it set up a strong foundation for a new series of films with characters that were not only appealing, but showed potential to grow with the right development depending on the scripts for the sequels. Instead of the characters further progressing in terms of development here, they ultimately feel as if they took a step back by both the films messy and uneven narrative.

      In the end, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Gindelwald will prove to be a divisive film in the new prequel series as fans will either accept it as a worthy follow-up to the last film or flat out reject it with the feeling that both Yates and Rowling could've developed the story much further with a stronger and more consistent film. For all its faults, Crimes Of Grindelwald is not a bad film as the positives far outweigh the negatives along with Rowling's touch of Wizardly magic present in the story. However, it's not going to go down as being the epic follow-up it was intended nor get fans psyched for the release of the third film. Despite it's faults, it still manages to entertain and keep the newer series alive for a future installment. Though hopefully the next one is more focused in terms of story and goes back to the basic fundamentals that made the first Fantastic Beasts such a hit with the focus being on the main characters. As a bridge between the first and third movie, The Crimes Of Grindelwald manages to work though as a sequel to the first Fantastic Beasts that's meant to take things out futher, it comes up short. The apparent lack of originality with the films story becomes evident when the filmmakers showcase Easter egg after Easter egg from previous Harry Potter films so that certain events and moments could be recollected, even to the point where it feels forced. Although not perfect, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald aims to please those who enjoyed the previous film along with introducing more fans of the original set of Harry Potter films to the newer story. However, it can be said that if one hasn't read the book for this film nor seen the previous movie, they will not understand the story being presented and ultimately end up being both disappointed and frustrated. The Crimes Of Grindelwald can be considered a lot of things from being rich in visuals though uneven in storytelling, but it still manages to be a reasonably satisfying follow-up to the previous Fantastic Beasts with hope that the third film will revert back to the character driven style of the first that made it a significant hit with audiences.

Final Verdict: If you're a fan of the Harry Potter series and enjoyed both the movies as well as the last Fantastic Beasts film, then The Crimes Of Grindelwald, despite its share of issues, is ultimately worth the watch.