*A few spoilers from The Crimes of Grindelwald.*
I didn’t see this movie when it first came out, for a number of reasons: the pandemic, J.K. Rowling, Ezra Miller, the shaky quality of the second film, etc. But I did remain at least a little curious about it, so when a friend asked if I wanted to watch it recently, I went for it.
As Gellert Grindelwald takes steps to shore up his power across Europe, courting followers to his anti-Muggle cause, Dumbledore finds himself unable to move against the dangerous man, thanks to a bonding spell they cast together during their youthful romance. While he searches for a way to undo the spell, he enlists Newt Scamander to lead a small band of wizards (plus Muggle Jacob Kowalski) to try and avert disaster.
I will say, I think it’s better than the second one. Grindelwald’s bigotry is openly vile, which it’s supposed to be. His contempt for Muggles is skin-crawling, and retroactively makes it even dumber that Queenie would have aligned with him at the end of the last movie. There’s also no ambiguity about his past relationship with Dumbledore (only took 15 years for that to happen)—both of them use the word “love” to describe it, and it’s clear that even now, there’s a pull between them that’s hard to entirely break. Of course, since Grindelwald is an overt magical Nazi, that one winds up being a bit of a mixed bag. But hey, Reylo, am I right?
Also in the good pile? Newt doesn’t take a bizarrely both-sides stance on the growing rise of fascism, as he did in The Crimes of Grindelwald. No, he realizes that everyone has to pull together to stop the growing threat on their world, even as he also has a lot of energy and heart to give to his beasts. Speaking of which, there’s increased magical-creature presence in the film, including one that plays a pivotal role in the plot. And Jacob, who I’ve always liked, is really acknowledged as an important member of the team, even though he doesn’t have magic.
On the other hand, the plot is busy and way over-convoluted. Oddly, that’s part of the point of the story, deliberately causing chaos to keep Grindelwald from gleaning their objectives. But it leaves us with a frenetic story that lurches from setting to setting, from one group of characters to another, and never really takes the time to come together in a satisfying way. The stuff with Queenie, as well as Credence, feels more like a means of cleaning up narrative messes from the last film. Tina has little more than a glorified cameo. And while I am interested in the Dumbledore/Grindelwald story, Newt and his beasts have always been my favorite part of this franchise, and Newt hasn’t really felt like the protagonist since the first film.
Nice performances from the returning actors, especially Jude Law as Dumbledore, Eddie Redmayne as Newt, and Dan Fogler as Jacob. Mads Mikkelsen takes over as our third Grindelwald in three films, and since we couldn’t keep Colin Farrell Because Reasons, he’s an excellent choice to take on the role. In his hands, Grindelwald is every bit as terrible as he ought to be, but you can also see his seductive nature, why people might get sucked into his cult. Mikkelsen and Law are fantastic in all their scenes together. I also really enjoy Jessica Williams as Lally Hicks, a professor from America’s magical school and part of the team Dumbledore assembles. Lally especially has some fun scenes with Jacob, and she gets to do some pretty awesome magic. (By the way, there’s still zero reference to the experience of being a person of color, even a witch of color, in America in the 1920s.) Additionally Richard Coyle (who I remember best as Jeff from Coupling) appears as the younger version of Aberforth.
Warnings
Violence (including violence against animals,) scary moments for kids, and thematic elements.
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