Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022, PG-13)

*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.

Favorite Characters: Jacob Kowalski (Fantastic Beasts)

In my initial Fantastic Beasts review, I mentioned my appreciation for the presence of this character, a Muggle who gets caught up in all the magical proceedings.  Jacob gives the new franchise an opportunity to explore an area that the Harry Potter universe has left fairly untapped so far, and he’s a fun, rootable supporting character to boot!  (A few Jacob-related spoilers.)

Without a doubt, the selling point of Jacob’s character is that he’s a Muggle.  He’s just going about his day, trying to get a bank loan so he can quit his soulless factory job and start a bakery, when he has the misfortune/fortune(?) to run into Newt.  One misplaced occamy egg later, and Jacob is part of a whirlwind of insane experiences that he has absolutely no context for.  Within his first short stretch of meeting Newt, he has magic used on him and sees it used on other people and objects, witnesses multiple magical creatures, and apparates, an experience that can be unpleasant enough for wizards who know what it is.  And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.  You can visibly see Jacob’s understanding of the world expand every moment he’s onscreen, and his looks of wonder – at everything from Queenie’s magic-aided cooking to Newt’s suitcase wildlife sanctuary – add a lot to the proceedings.

Certainly, part of his involvement is played for laughs, and in his performance, Dan Fogler takes full advantage of every incredulous reaction shot.  But Jacob’s ignorance, bewilderment, and general out-of-placeness makes sense.  He doesn’t know anything about any of this stuff, all of it is unbelievable, and a lot of it is pretty darn scary.  It stands to reason that he wouldn’t know the best way to contribute in a crisis, that he badly fakes his way through “knowing” what a house elf is.  He blunders into things, he gets himself in trouble, and he’s very, very confused – this is all to be expected.

But I like that, really, only the MACUSA folks (and sometimes Tina) treat him as stupid or ridiculous for not knowing things.  Because in truth, Jacob is no more ignorant or incredulous than Arthur Weasley is trying to use a Muggle tube station or wondering what a rubber duck is for.  Newt and Queenie both get that he’s new to all this, and while they don’t exactly take him by the hand and guide him through all the craziness, they also give him credit for doing as well as he does.

Because it’s not all fumbling and mistakes, not by a long shot.  Jacob may be largely along for the ride, but he goes pretty all-in fairly quickly.  Even if he doesn’t get much in the way of tangible victories, Jacob is there in the thick of it, taking it all in and trying to help in whatever small ways he can.  And loving it.  Yes, there are a lot of freaky moments, but Jacob spends much of the films with his head practically exploding in amazement.  This is nothing he’s ever known, and he wants to drink in every second of it, even if that means a lusty erumpent might try to mate with him.

It reminds of a quote from Doctor Who, in the series 2 episode “The Girl in the Fireplace,” when Renette says, “The Doctor is worth the monsters.”  For Jacob, the wizarding world can be a confusing, overwhelming, terrifying head trip, but it’s worth it.  He’ll gladly take the risks and accept some snickers at his expense if it means he’s allowed a glimpse into a world like that.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018, PG-13)

As someone who genuinely loves Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – Newt Scamander forever! – I was kind of disappointed by this film.  While it has some good points and some delightfully-magical moments, there are numerous places where I find it doesn’t measure up to its predecessor, and I admit to being apprehensive about what’s to come for this franchise (some spoilers for the first movie.)

A fair amount has happened since the events of the first film, both in the personal lives of our heroes and for the greater wizarding world at large.  Largest on the horizon is the threat of Gellert Grindelwald, who’s escaped captivity and is back to spreading his message of magical superiority, this time in Paris.  He’s also on the lookout for Credence, the Obscurial from the first movie.  In fact, the whole wizarding world seems to be looking for Credence – in addition to the potential in the raw, destructive force of his uncontrolled magic, there are prophecies afoot about him possibly being the lost scion of an important Pureblood family, and everyone is after him.  It’s hunting for Credence that brings Tina to Paris, and she’s shortly followed by Queenie, with Newt and Jacob coming after.  All of their relationships have been somewhat shaken up and changed, and as they alternately search for Credence, try to discover the truth of his parentage, and make plans against Grindelwald, they attempt to figure out where they all stand with each other now.

There are a number of reasons this movie doesn’t quite come together for me, the first being that it really doesn’t, well, come together.  It feels like there are plots for at least three different films going on here, not all of them compatible with one another.  This results in an overstuffed narrative, as well as jarring changes in tone that don’t really mesh coherently.  Additionally, I feel that most of the main characters are just too “involved” for my liking.  I love Newt’s position in the first movie as the well-meaning magizoologist who accidentally causes havoc in New York and inadvertently gets caught up in this bigger plot.  Here, though, he’s being courted by the Ministry (which doesn’t particularly like him but wants to use him,) he’s got people tracking his movements, and people use his full name in that significant way that indicates that this guy is a Big Deal.  And that doesn’t feel like Newt to me.  I’m of a similar mind about Credence’s storyline.  I really like what they did with him in the last movie, and I have no interest in finding out whether he’s a long-lost whoever with literal prophecies written about him – sometimes, I think characters can take on a greater narrative importance when they’re less contextually important.  There are just some really jarring character moments as well, scenes that feel less rooted in who the characters are/how they’d react and more in what would maximize the “twist” factor, which leaves the big moments feeling hollow and inauthentic.

The elephant in the room is of course Johnny Depp as Grindelwald.  Even before taking the domestic abuse allegations into account, I would’ve preferred to keep Colin Farrell in the role anyway, since a) Farrell is amazing in the first movie and b) as much as I used to adore Depp, his work has been pretty lazy and uninspired in recent years.  But, as with my thoughts on Matthew Wiener and The Romanoffs, I can’t watch Depp in the film without having that real-world context in the back of my mind, and I’m disappointed that this is the way the production went with.  While this is an admittedly-good performance, better than I’ve seen from Depp in quite some time, it obviously isn’t “worth” everything else that goes along with it.

New characters are a mixed bag.  I see potential with both Zoë Kravitz’s Leta Lestrange and Claudia Kim’s Nagini that feels wasted here, and while Jude Law pulls me in with his performance as a younger Dumbledore, he doesn’t feel all that Dumbledore to me.  William Nadylam, who I’m not familiar with, does a nice job with his character Yusuf Kama, and Victoria Yeates (Sister Winifred from Call the Midwife) does well enough with a brief bit of thinly-written comic relief.

What I like best is the stuff that reminds me the most of the first movie:  Newt and Jacob’s friendship, Newt being kind/adorkable, and Newt interacting with some fantastic beasts, the latter of which we don’t get as much of here.  (If you’re sensing a common theme, you’re right on.)  I also continue to love Newt’s easy, confident command of his magic, and he and Tina have a few lovely scenes together that (for my money) exceed their dynamic from the first film.  Plus, major points to whoever cast young Newt and Leta for some Hogwarts-schooldays flashbacks, ‘cause both of them are terrific.

Warnings

Strong thematic elements (including allusions to rape,) violence, and scary moments for kids.