2.5/4 stars
In Fantastic Beasts, Rowling heroizes a British wizard named Newt Scamander, who comes to America in order to return a giant magical eagle to its natural habitat. He also lets some of his creatures loose in New York, and much of the movie is centered on his quest to find them one by one and keep each one safe from harm. Who knew that J.K. Rowling was proponent of wildlife preservation?
In addition to finding his creatures, Newt faces off against an Obscurus, a dark magical force that manifests when a witch or wizard is forced to suppress their magic. In this case, the Obscurus comes from a teenage squib (non-magic individual who has magical ancestry) named Credence.
As the Obscurus in its most dangerous form is not an anthropomorphic enemy, we cannot assign a face to it. Sure, it was manifested by Credence, a human, but it is the force within Credence that is devastating, not Credence himself. This evil lacking a face is bothersome to me. It is as if we are watching a movie where the enemy is a tornado. Aside from the Obscurus, we encounter the evil Mr. Graves played by Colin Farrell. Unlike the Obscurus, he is an enemy with a face. Yet, we do not actually see him do anything of great consequence. Sure, he tries to manipulate Credence. However, his threat as a villain is minimal in this particular movie.
As far as structure goes, Fantastic Beaststakes the risk of having two main plots that have very little overlap: the quest to find Newt’s creatures and the battle against the Obscurus. Few directors are able to pull this off, and Yates is no exception. From beginning to end, watching Fantastic Beasts was like switching back and forth between two separate movies. The script would do well to focus on one of these two and let the other be a minor subplot.
On his journey, Newt comes across colorful characters: David Kowalski, a baker, and Tina, a former anti-Dark Magic official, and her sister Queenie, a witch with the ability to read minds. These protagonists are loveable and unique. Kowalski lacks suaveness, yet is funny, Newt is nerdy, yet brave, Tina is tightly wound, yet compassionate, and Queenie is ditzy, yet kind. Unfortunately, the bond between them is undeveloped and thus, the affection between the four comes off as fake, especially when they tearfully part ways.
The character with the most power and influence in the movie, Madam President, comes off as rather cold-hearted. We are left with bitterness towards her post-climax. The fact that the movie ends with her saying the final word, despite Yates’ intention for a happy ending, leaves the audience with feelings of disgust. In fact, Madam President is even worse that Graves, as she kills Credence when Graves tries to protect him.
Yet, Fantastic Beasts had its moments. Watching some scenes in Fantastic Beasts was like watching Animal Planet on steroids or a live-action Pokémon episode. Reminiscent of Harry Potter having to bow to a Hippogriff named Buckbeak in Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban,Newt’s silly creature trust-garnering rituals were a blatant reference to the ridiculousness of interactive animal researcher methods. But at least it was mildly amusing. Additionally, exploring the variety of magical creatures, big and small, furry and non-furry, beautiful and odd-looking, was fascinating.
Fantastic Beasts exhibits jaw-dropping CGI. The magical creatures were not only visually stunning but also a product of the moviemakers’ incredible creativity. The scenes in Fantastic Beasts are supported by first-rate music and are well crafted, making for an entertaining albeit clumsy movie.