‘Beasts’ not as fantastic in sequel

Megan Lynn, Chief|Published December 17, 2018

The theater crowded, full of teenagers and adults alike that have grown up with Harry Potter, the excitement rises as you see the Warner Brothers logo appear out of the dark smoke onto the screen.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is a jam-packed story full of cliffhangers that left me wondering how they are going to be continued in the next movies to follow.

Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) is recruited by Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) in hopes of stopping Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) and his plans of raising up all pure-blood wizards over all muggles, or non-magical beings.

The chase to recruit and find Credence (Ezra Miller), a character that is seen to have power to take down Dumbledore or Grindelwald, has begun.

Overall the film has many holes, twists and turns that will get you thinking into the past films and books in the Harry Potter fandom. However, there are too many to keep track of.

From the whole magic beasts that are rescued by Scamander to keeping track to the growing list of who is related to who, the overall plot is muddled to the many side stories that are added on in this film.

Nagini (Claudia Kim) is also introduced in this film, a character the pertains directly to the Harry Potter series. I feel that her character was just thrown in to connect this film further to the franchise, however it confused me more. How she is connected to Credence and is one of his closest allies confuses me as well.

Nagini has a blood curse that causes her to turn into a snake, that will soon take over and she will be stuck in that form forever.

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Without giving away any spoilers, be prepared for your mind to go on many theories about these characters and how they translate to the Harry Potter series as a whole.

— Megan Lynn

She was a filler character that had no personality and development. I hope to see more out of her in the next film in this series.

On the plus side, more little adorable creatures appear throughout the film, including my favorite — baby nifflers. They escape into Scamander’s house, outside of the basement where they are kept safe and run amuck.

This little moment that only lasts a few minutes is one of my favorite throughout the film because of the cuteness of the nifflers and the angles it was shot at. The Computer Generated Images, CGI, of the nifflers flying through the room is seamlessly incorporated into the rest of the scene, giving it this whimsically realistic feel.

Costume design for me is one of the most important parts of all movies, they can translate the time period and class of each of the characters. The clothing in this film is one that amazes me. However, with the first film of this series winning an Oscar for the costume design, it does not surprise me. They perfectly showcase the time period and the personalities of each of the characters, enhancing each of their features, making them stand out more in the film.

The ending of this film threw my for a loop and had me questioning the backstory of many of my favorite characters from the original Harry Potter series.

Without giving away any spoilers, be prepared for your mind to go on many theories about these characters and how they translate to the Harry Potter series as a whole.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is a must see for any Harry Potter fanatic like myself, however it may not be interesting to those who do not like trying to keep up with a very busy plot.