Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald Review

Let me just start off by saying that I’m probably quite biased here. I adore the Harry Potter books and have always enjoyed the movies, so you might want to take this review with a pinch of salt. The second instalment of the Fantastic Beasts series, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald kept me interested throughout. This is the ninth chapter of the newly named ‘Wizarding World’ of J.K. Rowling and continues the story of the magi-zoologist Newt Scamander, and the people in and around his world.

At the end of the last movie, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, we saw Grindelwald being exposed by Newt, and as a result being captured by the American Magical law enforcement (Macusa). We also saw the obscurial, Credence Barebone, being destroyed by the aurors, but just a fleeting glimpse at the end showed a tiny part of him slipping away. This movie starts off six months after the events of the last movie. As you can already see from my introduction, it is recommended that you watch the first movie before watching this one, or you will be completely lost.

The plot of this movie revolves around Credence, and his quest to find out who he really is. Everyone else in the movie is in some way or the other linked to Credence’s fortunes. Grindelwald’s power is made obviously evident in opening minutes of the movie, by showing how easily he escapes the Ministry’s clutches. The fact that he would escape was shown in the trailer itself, but there is a twist included which you wouldn’t know from the trailer. Even from prison, Grindelwald has been drawing in supporters. He is still trying to bring Credence over to his side, having discovered the power of the latter’s obscurial. Grindelwald realizes that Credence and his obscurial can become his most powerful weapon against Dumbledore.

Newt is back and tasked with foiling Grindelwald in his plans by none other than Albus Dumbledore. The latter cannot move against Grindelwald, for reasons that will be explained in the movie, and puts his trust in Newt. All of our favourite characters from the first movie, Tina, Queeny, and the indomitable Jacob Kowalski are back. Whoever has seen the previous edition would know that Jacob’s memories were wiped out at the end, because he was non-magic (No-maj) and him remembering would risk the exposure of the magical world. Whether Jacob remembers or not, and why is explained in the first scene featuring him (but we already know the answer to that, right? At least the first part!)

This movie introduces us to some new characters including Newt’s older brother, Theseus, who is the Head of the Aurors for the British Ministry of Magic. Played by Callum Turner, Theseus has some awkward moments with Newt early on, with the latter not very fond of his brother. We got an insight into this in the trailer itself when Tina tied up Theseus and Newt thoroughly enjoyed it. The two do work together later on in the movie, and it is evident that they care about each other as brothers, but there is a tension between not helped by the presence of Leta Lestrange in their lives. With how the movie turned out, Theseus is sure to play a much bigger role in the next movie. Leta Lestrange, played excellently by Zoe Kravitz, is Newt’s former classmate and close friend from Hogwarts and is now engaged to Theseus. We did see her character as a picture in the first movie. Claudia Kim as Nagini is a role which was being looked forward to by fans since the trailers were released. If you’ve followed Harry Potter, you’ll know Nagini goes on to become Lord Voldemort’s snake and is also one of his Horcruxes, and is ultimately killed by Neville Longbottom in the Deathly Hallows. Our favourite alchemist (and hence immortal!) Nicolas Flamel makes an appearance, and a badass cameo at the end. We also see a glimpse of something that was quite the rage at the start of the Harry Potter franchise! Finally, there’s Yusuf Kama, from another famous pure-blood family, who too is searching for Credence, but for very different reasons. His role is not fleshed out enough in this movie but he could be another important character in the next installment.

Coming to the story and performances, there is a lot going on in this movie. However, I didn’t find it hard to follow. Newt eventually finds himself in Paris, both to do Dumbledore’s bidding and to find Tina again. Eddie Redmayne as the eccentric Newt is a treat to watch. His interactions with the creatures are a visual delight, and he makes a Zouwu look like a harmless puppy (it’s anything but) with his skills. Not to mention his love and devotion to the Nifflers, one of whom pays back mightily at the end. Tina has her job back as an auror and is currently in Paris looking to find and protect Credence. She has read news of a Scamander engagement, which she hasn’t taken well. Catherine Waterston is enjoyable as Tina, and her chemistry with Redmayne remains as fresh as in the first movie. Queeny and Jacob are still in love and still adorable on screen together. They drop in on Newt in the opening scenes, but we see quite soon that all is not well in the mind of the legilimens (Queeny). Alison Sudol tries her best to make Queeny believable but is mostly overshadowed by the excellent Dan Fogler as Jacob. We find her desperate to be able to make her life with Jacob, but wizarding law forbids this. This has major implications for their love story. Jacob Kowalski is still the lovable baker of the previous film, and is still ever-ready to head off on adventures Newt, often by stifling his own desires. Jude Law adds just the right amount of sass and wit to the role of Dumbledore, but in reality there isn’t a lot of him. But I love that casting. He has a scene with Leta, which for me, was the scene of the movie. He tries to mirror their lives in this scene, in order to reach out and reason with Leta, all the while never giving away how he really felt about her when she was a student. Leta’s role in this movie is interesting. While I found both the role and the casting excellent, there could be reasons to think it redundant. Her major scene comes towards the end where she debunks the rumours about one of the characters and lets us know why she always carried a guilty conscience. Her fate is also a cruel twist, and goes to show how not everything is obvious in Rowling’s Wizarding World. I want to write more about her character but I think I’ll be giving away too much if I do. Meanwhile, Credence, played by Ezra Miller, starts working in Circus Arcanis in Paris after fleeing New York, where he meets and befriends Nagini. He is trying to find who his real family is, and Nagini helps him after they escape. Miller doesn’t really get a lot of scope to delve into acting, with Credence either always angry or despondent in the movie. Nagini’s role in the movie is not a significant one, but I’m looking forward to how the character evolves in the next installment, especially after how the climax turned out. Together, Credence and Nagini reach dead-ends in their quest to discover the former’s past but they are nudged in the right direction by a convincing Grindelwald. Coming to the evil wizard, how I wish Johnny Depp would not be having the controversies in his real life! Because then maybe he would get the good reviews that he deserves for this portrayal. Grindelwald is not Voldemort, that part is clear. He is a more cerebral villain. He prefers winning people over to his side with the gift of the gab rather than forcing his will from the onset. His speech at the climax leaves you with chills, and there is a time he even gets his message across to the most unlikely onlooker! I think the character development done for Grindelwald is appreciable, in both the way he (outwardly) lives up to his motto, ‘For the Greater Good’, and the way he has been differentiated from the other famous Wizarding World super-villain, Voldemort. Everyone knows the super-villain that Grindelwald is, but it is quite a task to challenge his logic and his vision. He wants to bring the wizards out of hiding. He feels that wizards are a superior breed and thus should not hide from the non-magical folk. One can see how this would appeal to some. He says he doesn’t hate the non-magical, he just has a different use for them. Johnny Depp shows that he can still slip into any aberrant role that he is offered. There is a lot more of him in this movie than the last one. And at no time does he feel out of place. We see a lot more of Grindelwald in this movie than Dumbledore and I certainly left the theatre wanting to see more. Depp as Grindelwald also delivers the biggest plot twist with the last line of the movie, one that is designed to shape the future movies. Personally I think, and hope, that he’s lying. Lies or not, that line is meant to stir the emotions of the listener into a frenzy, and it works! Grindelwald’s right hand (wo)man, Vinda Rosier, is shown to be a smooth talking, cold-hearted sidekick who’s left to perform the evil wizard’s dirty work. She is the one who does the killings when Grindelwald doesn’t want to get his hands dirty!

Despite being named after them, the second edition of fantastic beasts has a much reduced screen-time for the beasts. We are introduced to new creatures in this film though. The maginificent Kelpie gets a cameo at the start, further showing Newt’s mastery in his craft. The scary Zouwu, a Chinese creature that escapes from the circus in Paris, is caught by Newt in a scene reminiscent of the erumpent capture from the previous movie. The Thestrals make an appearance in the opening sequence as the beasts that pull the carriage in which Grindelwald is being transported. The Matagot, or spirit familiars to cats, guard the French Ministry of Magic. Pickett the Bowtruckle is back hanging out in Newt’s pocket and helps him and the hang escape from a sticky situation in Paris. And then there are the Nifflers. The one from the previous movie is joined by about half a dozen baby Nifflers, who are too cute to be real! The older Niffler steals more stuff and this time it helps more than it hurts Newt. Last but not the least, there is another magical creature that makes an appearance which we are familiar with from the Harry Potter series. It comes with Grindelwald’s final reveal, and consequential plot twist. Could this really be the same as the one we are familiar with in the Harry Potter series? We will need to wait to find out. Despite all this, the screen time for the magical creatures in this film is much less than in the previous one, which really is a shame. With so much going on about so many characters in this film, it looks like the creatures have taken a back in the series named after them.

Overall, I see a lot of parallels with this movie and the Prisoner of Azbakan, in the way it builds the Wizarding World of the protagonists, without a real sense of achievement at the end of the book/movie. I thoroughly enjoyed my two hours plus at the theatre. This was a movie I was waiting for with bated breath, and it delivered. Sure I would’ve wanted to see more of Dumbledore and Tina in particular, not to mention the Fantastic Beasts, but I’m sure they’ll play their role in the future. There is so much more I want to write and discuss about, but that would be spoilers galore for anyone who hasn’t yet seen the movie. I hope to write another piece about my feeling about the events of this movie at a later time, and also look at future possibilities of the series from my perspective.