As a die-hard fan of all things Harry Potter, I was beyond excited when the announcement for Fantastic Beasts came out. Having grown up with the magical world J.K. Rowling created, I eagerly anticipated the opportunity to explore it further. However, my experience watching Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them left me feeling more like a Muggle than ever before.
For a decade, the cinematic adventures of “Harry Potter” captivated audiences from every age group. The character who was known as The Boy Who Lived, initially famous in literature, also gained prominence on the big screen. There were numerous aspects that made the Harry Potter series beloved; nevertheless, one particularly appealing aspect was its vast and intriguing world – a richly detailed universe that people yearned to delve into, which mirrored the real-life experience of growing up.
Five years following the conclusion of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part Two”, the Fantastic Beasts series aimed to continue the financial success by offering more magical artifacts and enchanting adventures. However, this vast world started feeling narrow and repetitive, shifting from exploring adolescent experiences to simply rehashing elements from the Harry Potter lore. Unfortunately, the three Fantastic Beasts films turned out to be a creative disaster right from the beginning.
In the movie “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” magizoologist Newt Scamander, played by Eddie Redmayne, arrives in 1926 New York City. Director David Yates sets a somber tone for the city in the early 1900s, with muted colors and heavy digital effects. Initially, Newt doesn’t come across as particularly captivating, while one of the first magical creatures we encounter is a Niffler – a creature resembling a mole that might be too adorable for its own good. Creating creatures that seem designed for toys can sometimes have the unintended effect of alienating audiences; for instance, the cute droid character “D-O” from “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” remains unsold on toy store shelves today.
In a more relaxed and understandable rewording, the movie “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” starts off on a rocky note due to minor issues with visual details. Unfortunately, this issue, along with an overabundance of characters and subplots written by J.K. Rowling, sinks the prequel series from the beginning. While the original Harry Potter films had multiple characters, they consistently focused on the title character, Harry Potter. However, the main character, Newt Scamander, is drowned in a crowded cast consisting of Tina Goldstein (played by Katherine Waterston), troubled teen Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller), and Henry Shaw Sr., a seemingly unnecessary newspaper magnate played by Jon Voight.
In this story, numerous characters appear, making it too crowded and difficult for any one character to stand out distinctly. There’s a lot of action, special effects, and noise – but none of it creates an emotional bond with viewers. The movie Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them struggles to connect the diverse stories with elements from the Wizarding World (such as the emergence of the villain Grindelwald). As a result, the film seems disjointed. Unfortunately, even if major changes similar to those in The Suicide Squad had been made, it would have been challenging to save the trilogy at that point. It appears as though the new characters and lore were intended to support several movies’ worth of adventures, and the sequels to Fantastic Beasts were designed to build upon, rather than rectify, the mistakes of the first film.
As a movie enthusiast, I must admit that “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” stumbled in its commitment to an authentic American setting for the “Fantastic Beasts” trilogy. For instance, Newt Scamander, being a British character, was portrayed by an actor as quintessentially English as they come. Moreover, despite being set in New York, “Where to Find Them” seldom took advantage of its unique cityscape to create captivating scenes. Instead, the movie’s backdrops could easily pass for any city or country.
In my view, following films in the Fantastic Beasts series seemed to continue with the same flaws as seen in The Crimes of Grindelwald and The Secrets of Dumbledore. Instead of offering unique visual styles or intricate geographical details when we visited places like Paris, these movies remained rather generic. Unfortunately, the way New York was depicted in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them set a disappointing standard that later installments struggled to surpass. Despite venturing into new Wizarding World territories beyond Britain, each fresh land seemed to lack its own distinct identity or charm.
In my opinion, as a movie critic, the sequel of this magical franchise takes an unusual turn by having our protagonists combat Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) who aims to alter history, specifically preventing the Holocaust – a surprising twist indeed. Yet, in the third installment, The Secrets of Dumbledore, this historical genocide is conspicuously absent, with the narrative shifting towards a more contemporary issue: ensuring a power-hungry villain doesn’t manipulate an election.
The complex flaws evident in the “Fantastic Beasts” movies suggest that their storytelling was misguided, leading to their downfall. Issues such as overcrowding the films with numerous characters and tackling real-world atrocities clumsily were key factors contributing to the disastrous narrative of the three “Fantastic Beasts” installments. From the beginning, these problems were evident in the series’ approximate six-hour duration.
Criticisms of J.K. Rowling’s directorial ventures in “The Crimes of Grindelwald” and “The Secrets of Dumbledore” failed to prompt improvements. Possible sequels might have opted for a smaller cast or simpler storylines, but instead, they continued to introduce new issues. For instance, these films showed an awkward repetition of iconic locations from the Harry Potter universe, such as Hogwarts, following the creative rut in “Where to Find Them.” This artistic stagnation proved to be a creative quagmire that the franchise could never fully extricate itself from.
Initially, Eddie Redmayne’s portrayal of the franchise’s lead character was discussed. From the outset, Redmayne emitted an energy reminiscent of Hugh Grant, tripping over his words and avoiding eye contact, echoing the renowned British actor. However, Redmayne failed to establish Scamander as a compelling solo protagonist; rather, he seemed like a blend of past pop culture references, lacking contemporary appeal. As the series progressed, it became increasingly challenging to remain engaged with Scamander due to a lack of genuine human connection portrayed by him. Rowling’s writing also served to distance audiences from the character, making Scamander, as the central figure of the Fantastic Beasts franchise, less appealing – an issue that the trilogy could not resolve. Even though The Secrets of Dumbledore moved much of the focus towards Jude Law’s younger Albus Dumbledore, Scamander remained a significant character in the third installment, despite Law’s increased screen time. From the start of Where to Find Them, Redmayne’s portrayal of Scamander did not succeed, and it didn’t improve over the course of two more movies.
The Fantastic Beasts trilogy is one of modern cinema’s most egregious creative misfires. Wizarding World fans obsess over every detail of any media even tangentially connected to Harry Potter. Yet these features (which cost a reported combined $600 million to make) have vanished from the cultural consciousness with shocking speed. Warner Bros. is even reversing course and embracing a TV show reboot of the original Harry Potter stories, ensuring that the Fantastic Beasts trilogy is destined to become a pop culture footnote. That might sound like an impossible outcome for something extending out from one of the most beloved fantasy sagas ever; however, the flaws that weighed down Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them torpedoed the entire trilogy like a wizard’s curse.
You can stream Fantastic Beasts movies on Max. If you want to.
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2024-11-10 18:10