"Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them" Movie Review

By: James Southworth
Rating: 4/5 Stars

When J.K. Rowling introduced the world to Harry Potter with "The Sorcerer's Stone", I'm sure she had no idea just how much of an influence this book series would have. If you haven't heard of the Harry Potter franchise, you have probably been living under a rock. All seven books have been number one bestsellers, and the movies based on the series have made billions of dollars all together. The series also has quite a passionate fan base, myself included. The characters of the Harry Potter world are incredibly memorable, as is the amazing story line about a young man coming into his own in a beautiful magical land. J.K. Rowling has now expanded her series even more with the movie "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them". This series takes place 70 years before any of the events in the Harry Potter series take place, and it takes place in America rather than Britain. The story revolves around Newt Scamander (played by Eddie Redmayne) who has been studying a variety of magical creatures, and in studying them, is compiling a book telling wizards how to treat them, as well as explaining how these creatures are not as dangerous as many would believe. Along the way he meets a Non-Mag/Muggle Kowalski (Dan Fogler), who unintentionally sets the beasts Newt has free. The two of them, along with a witch involved in America's magical government named Tina and her sister Queenie, set out to try and find these creatures. Meanwhile, the threat of a powerful wizard named Grindelwald looms, as well as an organization that is setting out to extinguish witches and wizards.

Now I'll be honest: upon watching the trailer for this movie, I was not impressed. The movie looked like it would abandon practical special effects in favor of excessive CGI, and the characters did not seem that interesting to me. The plot as it was given in the trailer also didn't look all that compelling. I am glad to say that this movie REALLY surprised me though. Let's start with some of the primary strengths of the movie. One is the writing, and that is due to J.K. Rowling being the writer of this movie. There's no way people can say this movie isn't what the author wanted, because Rowling had total control over this movie. Thankfully, her screenwriting talents are just as good as her novel-writing talents. She does a great job of moving this movie along at a smart pace, and she creates a new set of likeable and well-developed characters as well. Though I was a little worried about the special effects in the trailer, I had a totally different view of them while watching the movie. The CGI in this movie is very impressive, and all the creatures in the movie seem very lifelike. All the creatures presented in the movie are lovable in  their own way, especially the absolutely cute and delightful  bowtruckles. Another strength of this movie that should absolutely be commended is that it doesn't have to use the Harry Potter franchise as a crutch. In fact, this movie does a great job of standing on its own; it really is its own thing. Rest assured American Harry Potter fans will be delighted in seeing that the American magical world is just as fascinating as the British one. There are some moments in the movie which reference the Harry Potter franchise, such as mentioning Hogwarts a few times (as that was the school Newt attended), as well as having a cool implementation of the Deathly Hallows symbol. Those Easter eggs work well in the movie; they don't feel like they are forced at all, and are sure to satisfy Harry Potter fans.

Where this movie really stands on its feet is in its incredible cast. Eddie Redmayne is amazing as Newt Scamander. He really gives this character a lot of interesting aspects, making him a compassionate and sweet character. He also portrays this character as one who has a broken backstory that, while not expanded upon in this movie, I certainly would like to see discussed in one of the sequels. It's easy for the audience to attach to this character. I could totally root for him in his quest to try to get people to understand magical creatures. Another great performance comes from Katherine Waterson as Tina. She does a great job of portraying this witch's more rebellious traits, as well as giving her a tough but friendly demeanor. She and Redmayne worked well together, and their clashing personalities was always interesting to watch. Dan Fogler is a real highlight as the Non-Maj character Kowalski. This character was one that was basically an audience character, the one that didn't know anything that was happening. But he was a well-developed character, one that is extremely hilarious and easy to connect to and sympathize with. The ending of his story in this movie was a bittersweet. I hope to see more of him to come. The comic relief of this character is great, but where Fogler really sells his character is in the love he legitimately has for Newt and the rest of the magical people he follows around. The real standout performance for me out of this movie was Alison Sudol as Tina's sister Queenie. This character didn't start out as very interesting, just feeling like a love interest for Kowalski. But as the movie progressed, she became more interesting, having her own brand of humor. Something about the way Sudol portrayed Queenie made her look like she had more to her than met the eye. She wasn't a character that I really expected to be part of the magical world, but maybe that's why I like her so much. She's surprising and interesting. Some other great performances that shouldn't be forgotten are Colin Farrel's menacing portrayal of Graves and Samantha Morton really making Mary Lou a despicable character.

"Fantastic Beasts" is not without its faults. While Rowling's screenwriting is great, there are some points where it can really falter. One of the biggest problems of the movie is trying to shift between a lot of different plot lines. There was a really unnecessary political plot line that really felt like it connected to nothing at all. I still am trying to figure out what role it had to play in the movie besides having an admittedly exciting action sequence take place. The side plot of the anti-magical people was good, but it felt like it didn't need as much focus as Rowling gave it. Out of all of these plot lines comes a more prevalent problem in this movie: jarring tonal shifts. One thing that I've always loved about the Harry Potter franchise was how it logically shifted from the awe-struck wonder of the earlier movies to the darker tone of the later movies. This movie tries to combine those two, and it doesn't always work. One moment, you're watching Newt and Kowalski together experiencing all these amazing creatures, the next you're watching a woman abusing a child. While this problem wasn't something that weighed down the movie too much, it was still noticeable at points. Another slight problem of this movie was the pacing. Sometimes the movie was going way too fast, other times it felt like all was happening was an exposition dump. But that is more of a nitpick than anything.

Ultimately, I am happy to say that "Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them" was an unexpected surprise. It reminds a lot of the first two Harry Potter movies, which isn't a bad thing at all. This movie can stand independently of the films it's come from, which is a rare thing that can be said about a prequel. The movie also shows how America is just as magical as Britain. I can confidently say that I recommend this movie to any Harry Potter fan, new and old alike. Despite its flaws, there's still plenty to like about this movie; it's a fun ride. I will definitely be highly anticipating the upcoming sequels!