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Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them


Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)



I wasn't planning on seeing this, but a few friends decided to go, so I went. It was alright, I guess it was a bit better than the few Harry Potter movies I have fresh in my mind, which is really only the first two. Most of the movie was essentially pointless plot wise, capture the beasts, that's about it. Then we get to the actual plot, and some world building in the third act, but it's a bit too late for me to get really invested. It's the same formula they used in the Harry Potter movies I've watched, and it comes off as a bit unfocused.

The main character was a bit more interesting than Harry Potter. That has a lot to do with him being less essential, and heavily involved in the whole plot, and the world, not having to fit this "chosen one" archetype that Harry Potter did. He had a bit more personality, he had that Doctor Who, Loki kind of quirkiness that definitely didn't seem coincidental, I feel like that kind of character was exactly what they were going for. I'm not a huge fan of Redmayne, but it's easy to see why they chose him, it fits, he does an alright job. The other characters were pretty forgettable, that's where the Potter films seem to have an upper hand, at least in that aspect. They had a lot of entertaining side characters like Dumbledore, or Hagrid. This one did not have any characters that stuck with me. A lot of wasted talent, too. Colin Farrell, Ron Perlman, Ezra Miller, there presence is pretty much wasted in this movie.

I really dislike their desire to completely wow you with the visuals. While it was a good looking movie, a good example of this would be an approximately ten minute scene where there just showcasing you all of the beasts in the movie. That's great, and all, but what does this have to do with the overall plot at hand? I guess it just mirrors the pace of the movie in general. I like the setting, I feel like there's a lot more to do when you have an entire city at your disposal rather than just a school, it also kills the repetition when there's obviously sequels to be made with it. Overall, I suppose I wouldn't mind coming back for the sequel, I find it more appealing than what I've watched of Harry Potter personally, there's a lot of room for improvement. But, then again I haven't watched enough of the movies to give an absolute opinion.