Movie Review: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Although it was fun to be back in the world of Harry Potter, where J.K. Rowlings has spun many exciting tales about the boy who lived, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them didn’t quite deliver in the manner I would have hoped for. Set in 1926 New York, Newt Scamander is tracking down magical creatures, which he is cataloguing for a book that he is writing. The first half of the book really didn’t have much of a plot. It seemed like an exercise in trying to squeeze in as many magical creatures onto the big screen as humanly possible. This isn’t to say that it wasn’t fun watching it. It just wasn’t particularly fulfilling.



The second half of the movie finally gets to the real meat of the story. An Obscurus, which is a malignant force created by children who are forced to suppress their magical abilities, is wreaking havoc in New York. Newt and fallen auror Tina Goldstein, who have very little on screen chemistry, are joined by Tina’s sister and a muggle in trying to learn the identity of the Obscurus and stop it from destroying the city.



I didn’t care for Eddie Redmayne cast in the lead role. He had a constant flow of obscure mannerisms. It seemed like for half the movie he was hunched over. In general, the characters were weak. The only one I liked was Jacob, the muggle. The ending smacked of cheating the audience. There was definitely some entertainment value in this movie, but it pales in comparison to the Harry Potter films.