On the thirteenth of November there was the premiere of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald, the second of five movies from the new saga of the Harry Potter universe, which happens about 60 years before the known wizard was born. Unlike the Potter saga, Fantastic Beasts doesn’t have books, and the script was made by J.K. Rowling herself.
The second film has two hours and twenty of duration, takes place in Europe, focusing on Paris, and introduces the first wizards war with the characters already presented in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Image Source: IMDB
Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmyne) is back in England, forbidden to leave the country due to the confusion in New York. Tina (Katherine Waterston) has returned to her Auror position and continues her mission to protect Credence (Ezra Miller), who seeks his origin. Jacob (Dan Fogler) recovered his memory and began a relationship with Queenie (Alison Sudol), who faces emotional crises due the barrier that being a witch imposes in her relationship. There are characters that were just mentioned in the first film such as Leta Lestrange (Zoe Kravitz), with a much more fundamental role for the plot than one would imagine. And finally, but not least, Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law), who despite always being the conscience of the good guys, doesn’t enter directly into the plot conflicts.
Grindelwald (Johnny Deep) is a villain superior to Voldemort. His power goes beyond magic (despite being extremely powerful to the point of appearing superior to Dumbledore, after all he possesses the wand of wands), he also possesses the power of words. For those who like history, Grindelwald is the Hitler or Stalin of the wizarding world. His sweet words put the wizards at the mercy of their will, without them realizing they’re going on a dangerous path. His main mission in this movie is to win followers and bring Credence to his side.
Image Source: IMDB
The plot presents us more than ever an immersion in the wizarding world, from nostalgic elements such as Hogwarts and the British Magic Ministry to new animals and the Paris Ministry. In fact, Fantastic Beasts, both films, invest in nostalgia, no doubt a movie made for fans in which elements of Harry Potter won’t be explained again and for the beginners in this universe some things are confused. Still, Rowling launches new elements that even the fans are confused for having battles with Harry Potter themes. A risk factor, since from the strange plot of the play “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” the confidence the fans in relation to the thoughts of the writer is shaken.
The movie presents some defects of direction, like cameras that focused a lot on the faces of characters – I believe that to give the impression of what the other character of the dialogue sees – which don’t match the general way the movie is recorded and leaves the images blurred some moments. There are also scenes where the images are blurred in a way that of course was a camera problem, not a purposeful effect. Dubbing for Portuguese also has problems. One of the characters with more intimacy with Grindelwald, Dumbledore, pronounces wrong the villain name. There is also the voice Dolores Umbridge, a Harry Potter character being reused in another witch.
But the film has great qualities, like special effects, especially for anyone watching in 3D, will have a great experience with spells that really jump off the screen. And animals with creative, beautiful and even real appearances. The costumes are also excellent, expressing the changes in the personalities of some characters, such as Quennie with more sober colors due to their internal conflicts.
In short, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald continues with the mood of introduction to the true story to come, as well as Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The missions are also similar: the heroes are focused on bringing Credence for good, and villains on doing the opposite. What really guarantees fans’ anxiety for the upcoming movie is certainly the surprising ending, which will make many re-read Harry Potter to try to understand how this is possible. However, the only one who can actually answer the questions raised will be J.K. Rowling, who will reveal to us, as always, little by little, what is going on in her head. It remains to ask for the writer to pity the fans.