Directed by David Yates, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is set after the events of The Crimes of Grindelwald and follows Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) who tasks magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) with leading an intrepid team of wizards and witches on a mission to stop Gellert Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen) and his army from seizing control of the wizarding world. They soon encounter an array of old and new beasts as they clash with Grindelwald’s growing legion of followers, which forces Dumbledore to decide how long he will stay on the sidelines in the approaching war and when he will face secrets of his past.
For those who may not have known me that long I used to be a massive Potterhead back in the day having read all the books, watched all the films, and loved everything involving the Wizarding World. The cultural impact of this magical cinematic universe has had on so many people rivals and predates that of the MCU and DCEU.
But in recent years the Wizarding World kind of lost the spark it had with people due to a number of reasons and one of them is the mixed reception of the Fantastic Beasts franchise. I personally enjoyed the first film and I think many others did as well, but as for the following second film I was disappointed with how messy it was just like everyone else. It certainly rubbed a lot of people the wrong way and that paired with certain controversies put the future of this franchise into question.
Some like myself felt like giving up on it entirely but I will admit that there was a part of me that wanted to see the story continue. And after seeing the trailers and having a high volume of requests, I decided to give this film a chance. And I’m really glad I did. The Secrets of Dumbledore is not only a massive and significant improvement over its predecessors, but it is also a beautiful return to the wizarding world that many people missed. Gone are the complicated and overstuffed plot lines. We are back to the strong character-driven storytelling that the Harry Potter series was known for and loved for.
We are given a more focused and slick story that delivers magical heart, thrills, and raw emotion while also building towards a destined clash that is to come. You might be wondering what changed between films to lead to such a surprising outcome and the answer for that is writer Steve Cloves. For those who may not know Steve Cloves, he previously served as screenwriter on all of the Harry Potter films. He didn’t write the previous Fantastic Beasts films but he was brought in to help write this one and that was possibly the best decision for this film. And if he is kept on for the two installments after this one I can see a really bright future for this series, especially after how incredible this one turned out. Obviously, David Yates also gets credit for a lot of things in this film but the real hero is Steve Cloves who understood the assignment.
With that out of the way let’s talk about why I love this film, starting with the characters. One of the major issues the previous installment suffered from was the inclusion of too many characters and not enough development for any of them. This film thankfully does not have that issue now that we get to have a select number of characters, both old and new, as the primary focus, and others take a bit of a back seat. In a way, this is similar to how the Harry Potter films were: with so many characters some were chosen to be focused on for one film while others would be focused on and developed more in another film. It worked for Harry Potter and it works well here too where certain characters get much-needed development they severely lacked in the previous installments.
The two main stars of this film are Jude Law as Albus Dumbledore and Mads Mikkelsen as Gellert Grindelwald. We get to see their relationship explored more in-depth, while also getting to see them stand out on their own as they are inching their way towards their destined duel that is said to be the greatest wizards duel in history. They work together amazingly on screen in a way I wasn’t expecting.
Jude Law perfectly embodies a younger Albus Dumbledore as we get to see him put on the frontlines, bringing a perfect amount of charm and elegance to a character we are familiar with, but also bringing massive heart and emotion that we only saw glimpses of in the previous installment. His journey to face his past head-on is beautifully handled and we really get a new look at the days before he would become headmaster of Hogwarts and eventually the most powerful wizard in the world. I will always love the contributions Richard Harris and Michael Gambon brought to Dumbledore but I can honestly say Jude Law is probably my favorite portrayal of the character because of this film.
Mads Mikkelsen delivers a surprisingly phenomenal take on Gellert Grindelwald as he establishes himself as a dangerous and powerful presence that rivals that of Voldemort, especially with having stronger motives and tactics to take over the Wizarding World. Like others, I was disappointed by the removal of Johnny Depp from the role and I was uncertain about how I was going to feel about him being replaced. But honestly, I think Mads did a fantastic job with the role, adding his own incredible take to the character and making him a fantastic villain for this series. The acting and writing between these two was perfect and I am hoping that this carries on to their fated legendary clash.
The other characters of course do manage to shine in their own ways, including everyone’s favorite magizoologist, Newt Scamander. Eddie Redmayne consistently proves to be one of the best additions to the wizarding world as we see him take on all-new magical beasts as well as a new role as a team leader. We get to see him develop his relationships with the other characters including his brother Theseus (Callum Turner) who I liked a lot more in this film compared to the previous installment. We get to see a great dynamic between them, including one very hilarious and tense scene with them involving new creatures.
The beasts themselves both old and new are amazing and have more importance to the story, which is a great choice given the franchise’s name. And for those who are wondering what has happened to Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterson) do not worry, she is in this film but only briefly because the story is more focused on certain characters. However, it is highly likely we will see her again in the following installments especially since she is consistently on Newt’s mind throughout this film.
Dan Fogler is once again magnificent as Jacob Kowalski, bringing the heart and humor that you’ve come to expect. He is truly a great gem in this series and a lot of it is thanks to Fogler’s performance as the character.
We also have the return of his former lover Queenie, played by Alison Sudol, who seriously delivers a great performance of her own, especially in the emotional department. I know that there have been a lot of people that felt that her sudden turn to Grindelwald’s side in the previous film was a mistake but I think this film manages to handle that better and really show how conflicted she is about being a part of something crazy.
We also get other great performances and roles from returning characters like Bunty Broadacre (Victoria Yeates) and Yusuf Kama (William Nadylam) and new faces like Professor Eulalie “Lally” Hicks (Jessica Williams) and Aberforth Dumbledore (Richard Coyle). Lally was a surprising addition to the group that had great energy I really liked thanks to William’s performance. She was able to naturally bounce off everyone and even shared great moments with Newt, Jacob, and Theseus.
And then we come to the wild card of the film: Credence Barebone aka Aurelius Dumbledore (Ezra Miller). After such a significant reveal at the end of the previous film about his true heritage, I was very curious to see how exactly it would pan out in this film. Surprisingly he didn’t have as much of an impact on the story as I expected. (Continued)
He does have some emotional impact on Albus and Aberforth as we learn the true nature of his heritage; it’s handled quite well but for most of the film he doesn’t contribute that much and his story seemingly comes to a sudden conclusion in this film. That being said the conclusion to his story does make sense and is good timing, considering the actor’s recent real-life actions. It allows future films to be able to move on without him.
The story is adventurous, magical, and thrilling, offering all the fun stuff and escapism many people enjoy, but the story also manages to be dark, political, and grounded. This is very similar to how Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and once again David Yates’s direction and Steve Cloves’s writing really made all the elements work together in perfect harmony. You feel invested in everything that happens as we see it from the characters’ perspectives and get to experience their emotional stakes in the story, especially with certain characters like Dumbledore.
We also get to see some themes that mirror events that have happened and continue to happen in our own world that I certainly wasn’t expecting, especially regarding corruption in government powers. I can see people comparing Grindelwald’s motives and rise to power with that of Hitler and his Nazi regime, which I believe was done on purpose given what was established in the previous film. It’s an interesting expansion of the wizarding world alongside new locations that add to the stakes of the film and I thought it was handled really well. But of course, if you are more into seeing the spells and magical beasts of all shapes and sizes, don’t worry, there is still plenty of that complete with incredible action sequences and gorgeous gorgeous visuals.
Something the Wizarding World has never faltered on throughout all of its installments is the visual department, with stunning effects, masterful costume design, stellar editing, and lovely cinematography that absorbs you back into the beautiful world most of us remember. You can’t help but love every single frame you see on screen and see the amount of effort that is put in. On top of all this, we get a magical and magnificent score from James Newton Howard that further increases the excitement and emotions this film delivers, further cementing him as one of the best film composers working today who doesn’t get enough credit.
The Secrets of Dumbledore is a massive step in the right direction for both the series and has reignited my love for the wizarding world. The question now though is will we be able to see this story continue? As I am writing this review the film has received mostly favorable reviews from audiences but has had mixed reception from critics, which may impact the performance of this film and the future of this series.
However, it is important to note that some of the critics that have been giving the film negative reviews are doing so solely based on their views of the controversies rather than actually reviewing the film itself, which to me is wrong and is not at what the purpose of a film review is. So I am once again strongly advising people not to listen to critics or aggregator sites and choose to make their own judgments when seeing this film. That being said, if you are someone who does not wish to see the film for your own personal reasons that’s totally fine but if you have a little fondness for the Wizarding World then I recommend watching this film. I’m going to give Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore an A = 96.
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