Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore review: A zombified Potter prequel

What happens when a studio stops making sequels to its films? The objectively correct answer is “When the franchise stops making money.” The confused, misshapen Harry Potter universe sequel Fantastic Beasts from the Secrets of Dumbledore It challenges the accepted wisdom. Warner Bros. could have easily abandoned this series, despite being $600million ahead. They faced many obstacles in making this film: Warner Bros. had to appoint a marquee star due to accusations of domestic abuse; a supporting actor with a history of emotional assault and distressing headlines and a screenwriter/creator who was consuming her public goodwill fast and intently enough that she suggested a self-deprecating fetish. And for bonuses: an unwieldy ongoing narrative that’s openly lost interest in its original premise, and a pandemic delaying production nearly a full year.

However, as long cash remains green and galleons remain gold the series can continue. This is the The third installment continues to expand the wizarding world’s geography and history, getting hopelessly lost along the way. The Incredible Beasts As wonderstruck adventures, spinoffs introduced mild-mannered Naturalist Newt (Eddie Redmayne), to a variety of CGI animals. He’s now been remanded to the margins of his own franchise (and its poster). His presence has been reduced to a handful of whimsical interludes that feel severely out of place in what’s otherwise a morose political thriller. A clear attempt to correct the ship turned into an egregious case of mission drift. As a property without identity, it travels in unsensical circles looking for a new sustainable direction.

Photo: Jaap Buitendijk/Warner bros.

More prominently, the details of this magical electoral process are included in The Secrets of Dumbledore than the average viewer might expect from a fun-for-the-whole-family fantasy. While candidates for Supreme Head of the International Confederation of Wizards do campaign and rally support from their constituents, there’s no voting involved. This undemocratic process instead falls to the judgment of a small, scaly, mutant baby deer, revered for its unerring ability to sense the purity of a person’s character. These wizards simply line up potential office-holders at the top of a Bhutanese mountain (which is really what drives the point home). Kundun Feel the absurdly random system’s vibe, then place the cryptid down on the ground and watch it recognize who you are. Say what you will about America’s electoral college — at least it can’t be kidnapped, killed, brought back to life, and brainwashed.

This is Gellert Grindelwald’s evil scheme to avenge his populist third-party grab of power in 1930s. Potter fans will remember him as Albus Dumbledore’s one-time lover (Jude Law). A romantic past that is openly and clearly discussed in terms worthy of recognition.

In the throes of love years earlier, they signed a blood oath that they’d never harm each other, but Dumbledore takes it upon himself to #stopthesteal, and he taps Newt for a crucial mission. Their dynamic smacks of Nick Fury and Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe — the smell of capes-and-tights trend-chasing is all over the place in this movie, particularly in the hazily defined magic that functions more and more like superpowers.

Warner Bros.

To apprehend a still-impartial, not-interfered, twin Picking Deer, Scamander gathers a motley crew of characters who somehow feel undeveloped after only two and a half hours of viewing them. The series’ emotional core, Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler, the only one enjoying himself), comes to grips with the poorly rationalized defection of his beloved Queenie (Alison Sudol), who went over to the dark side in the previous film. Jessica Williams, the spunky Hogwarts teacher Lally, takes on a bigger role, and doubles down on her painful mid-Atlantic accent. You are markedly It is notKatherine Waterston was present. She must have a good agent. As Newt explains in a shoehorned bit of dialogue, her character — his love interest Porpentina — “is busy,” presumably dying on her way back to her home planet.

Newt’s convoluted, anticlimactic quest to secure and deliver his precious cargo lacks the delighted curiosity that lent the first Incredible Beasts It’s a welcome boost in charm. One creatively staged setpiece pits Newt and his brother Theseus (Callum Turner) against a crustaceous leviathan in a panopticon-style prison tower, where the boys engage in a silly crab-walk, reminding viewers that playing funny every now and again won’t hurt anyone. Apart from that, Newt’s piece of the plot has the same blandness as its aesthetic: Series director David Yates conveys that this part of the story is set in the past by grading everything to a desiccated gray or brown. It’s difficult to imagine a real-life child being dazzled by this movie, and it’s depressing to realize that the intended audience here is probably IP loyalists too old for kid stuff, yet unwilling to leave this universe behind.

Photo: Jaap Buitendijk/Warner Bros.

The Potter filmtic empire is facing an existential crisis, just like many franchise giants that have passed their sell-by dates. It must decide if it can inspire younger audiences to be interested in its future heroes. Taking a cue from the latter-day Star Wars movies’ fixation on the Skywalker lineage, J.K. Rowling and co-writer Steve Kloves connect everything to the canon their audience has already invested in, shifting Dumbledore to the fore and focusing on his fractious family tree. Harry Potter and Voldemort are still glints in their respective parents’ eyes, so Dumbledore is these movies’ only anchor to the beloved original series. So naturally we’ll want to get to know his estranged blue-collar brother, right? If that’s the assumption Rowling and Kloves are working from, Dumbledore’s much-touted secrets need to be juicier than “He has a nephew.”

The continuation of the franchise is assured. Its pivot towards Newt toward Dumbledore will continue. And so it is with the ongoing exploration into inconsequential mythos as the timeline moves toward World War II. This movie is about hope and finding it in the midst of bleak times, so there’s not much to be hopeful for. They will try to make these movies what the public expects. Failing that, they’re willing to settle for turning them into whatever we’re willing to pay for.

Fantastic Beasts from the Secrets of DumbledoreOn April 6, the movie opens in theatres