Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018) Review

THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

JK Rowling revived the Wizarding World franchise with the spin-off Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Due to its box office success, it sparked into a new multi film saga. Was it worth the time? I guess so.

PLOT

The second entry known as The Crimes of Grindelwald takes place in 1927 and shows dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald escape from custody during a prison transfer. Three months after this, Newt Scamander visits the Ministry of Magic to appeal his international travel ban, where he runs into his brother Theseus, who works as an Auror and is engaged to his Hogwarts classmate Leta Lestrange. Newt ends up declining the renewal when the Ministry insists him to help find the surviving Credence Barebone, alongside Theseus and bounty hunter Gunnar Grimmson (Ingvar Eggert Sigurosson). The magizoologist then encounters Professor Albus Dumbledore, who in fact indirectly & intentionally sent him to New York. He encourages him to find Credence, believing he could be Leta's long lost brother, Corvus V. Upon returning home, He reunites with Queenie Goldstein and her Muggle boyfriend Jacob Kowalski, who regained his erased memories. He is then disappointed to not see Tina with them, which is only the result of her mistaking him to be engaged with Leta on the newspaper. When Jacob strangely announces being engaged to Queenie, Newt quickly lifts her enchantment as they all know it is illegal for Muggles and wizards/witches to marry. This disappoints Queenie as she truly loves Jacob and wants to be happy. Her disappointment causes her to leave to Paris and both men do the same separately to find Tina, whose looking for Credence in Paris. There, the Obscurial escapes a circus with Nagini (Claudia Kim), a Maledictus that is cursed to permanently turn into a snake. Credence is in Paris as he hopes to find his biological mother. He only finds a half elf servant named Irma Dugard (Danielle Hugues), who admitted to bringing him to NY for adoption. Before he could learn, she is killed by Grimmson who is a secret follower to Grindelwald. When Newt & Jacob make it to Paris, they do reunite with Tina, but meet another wizard named Yusuf Kama, whose also looking for Credence. The latter briefly holds the three protagonists imprisoned in order to avoid being stopped, but is ironically done so by water dragon parasite in the sewers. When the others break free, they take shelter of the home of alchemist Nicolas Flamel, who created the Philosopher/Sorcerer's Stone with Dumbledore. In the meantime, Newt & Tina would capture a giant Zuowo. Back at Hogwarts, Dumbledore is confronted by the Ministry and demand for his help to capture Grindelwald. But as he told Newt, he claims that he cannot, which results in him being banned to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts and get monitored on his use of spells. Back at Paris, Newt makes clear to Tina that he is not marrying Leta, which puts them back on good terms as they retrieve information on Credence at the French Ministry. They leave with the engaged couple to avoid dealing with Matagots controlled by the French Ministry's record keeper. They all teleport to a cemetery where they all meet up with Jacob and Yusuf, who thanks to Flamel himself, showed them a crystal ball that Credence and Nagini would be there. Credence is there with Nagini thanks to being invited by Grindelwald to attend a secret meeting that includes his followers. Yusuf wants to kill Credence on behalf to avenge his mother who was taken against her will by Corvus IV, believing him to be the V. Leta makes things clear that he is Corvus V because she is responsible for the latter's death: As a child boarding to NY, she could not handle his infant tears, influencing herself to swap him with a quieter baby whose parentage is unknown to her, Credence himself. Sadly, the baby died when the ship sank. Shortly after this shocking confession, Grindelwald's meeting begins and Jacob finds Queenie in attendance, already persuaded to join him. During this meeting, he shows everyone in attendance future images of WWII to encourage wizards/witches to overthrow the flawed non magic community. Theseus leads the Aurors to stop all of the dark wizard's followers, but the latter helps them escape by summoning a blue flame in the for of a dragon to overthrow Paris. Credence and Queenie ultimately join him, against the wishes of Nagini and Jacob. Leta does try to attack Grindelwald, only to sacrifice herself by being consumed by the flames. As the dark wizard retreats with his new followers, Flamel helps the Aurors put out the fire and save Paris. Surprisingly, Newt's Niffler was able to steal a vial of blood, which happens to be an actual 'blood pact'. When the magizoologist confronts Dumbledore about it, he admits that he swore to not ever confront him. Now, he hopes to destroy it to do what is necessary. The film ends in an Austrian base, showing Grindelwald giving Credence a wand and revealing his identity, 'Aurelius Dumbledore'.

THOUGHTS

The best way to talk about this film is through Pros and Cons.

Pros: Since the first film felt one and done, I didn’t think it was necessary to go any further to explore known for that hadn’t been visualized yet. But as a fan, I was willing to give it a chance. Since I didn’t think we needed it originally, I wasn’t really sure what I wanted other than for it to be entertaining. Luckily, Rowling and David Yates are still able to do just that. Aside from seeing the Zuowo, which is the movie’s best use of visual effect throughout, there is no scavenger hunt of creatures this time and instead, we get the first step of exploring the infamous rivalry/war between Grindelwald and Dumbledore, which is carefully fleshed out from here to later on. This one is still interesting to watch despite its issues because it explores a deep perspective of morality, showing various portrayals of how far we'll go when testing our limits to do what we need/want. And I think through each character we see, played spectacularly by a diverse cast, it is all done well. Our main lead Eddie Redmayne still makes Newt a highlight for maintaining him as empathic towards others as he is with the creatures he studies. He chooses to help Dumbledore in the long run because he knows they both see the light in everything/everyone, more than the darkness. It does pain him to go through old wounds along the way, but it is becoming worth it as things progressed because he knows the greater good outweighs everything he's ever known. It would have been a robbery had Dan Fogler not returned as Jacob and we were in luck to see him once again. The luck only rose from there as the character becomes only more compassionate than ever as he refuses to put himself in even more trouble by marrying Queenie. It hurts him as much as it hurts her because he knows he wants to be with her, but has to find a loophole before it could get worse. In the perspective of Queenie herself, Alison Sudol shows her to be extremely conflicted whereas her broken heart makes her irrational and easily seduced to make a grave mistake, that is siding with the enemy. She may look crazy for not thinking it through, but I believe many would do the same in her position. Katherine Waterston shows Tina to be more grounded due to a misunderstanding that broke her heart. While I don't wanna pick sides, she has a stronger will than her sister because she doesn't exactly act irrational. She still has much of a clear mind in comparison as she still does what is right and doesn't let her personal issues cloud her judgment. Thankfully, her issues with Newt resolve before anything else hit the fan. There were big expectations for Jude Law to play Albus Dumbledore, due to the legacy left behind by Richard Harris & Michael Gambon respectively. The actor lives up to it by remaining as knowledgeable and caring as the character has famously been known for in the past. Due to his personal connection to Grindelwald, that was once intimate, he knew that the man he once cared deeply for had to be stopped before worlds would collide in the worst way. And lucky for him, he found a great ally in Newt. It was even a treat to see Nicolas Flamel as well, as actor Brontis Jodorowsky was able to accurately depict him as wise and patient he's always described to be. He may not come off as imaginative as the wizards/witches around him, but he is one who knows what side he is on and remains as helpful as he can, which makes him so special. Zoe Kravitz was another welcome addition to the cast for nailing every bit of depth that Leta Lestrange had. Upfront, you can recognize her for being the most considerate in the room, but deep down, she is someone who has a lot of baggage. One minor act of selfishness only got bigger as the consequences were not what she expected. Due to such regret, she became an outcast and found solace through Newt. However, she ended up being with Theseus in adulthood because he was someone who was organized compared to his brother. She chose to sacrifice herself in the end because she couldn't bare losing more people she loved. When her final words were "I love you", it is clear that she said it to both because it'd be too complicated to figure out if it was meant for one of them. Aside from being more organized/responsible, Callum Turner also shows Theseus to be about as noble as his brother, who has well meaning through each decision. He insists to have Newt join the Ministry because he is only looking out for him. Since he stayed with Leta for so long, I really doubt he knew of their own unspoken love. While tragedy brought both brothers together, it is satisfying that Dumbledore has a new addition to his alliance. As for the last of new characters, William Nadylam portrays Yusuf as one who is rightfully cunning to avenge his broken family, but one Leta reveals the truth of Corvus V to him, he came to realize that revenge would not be worth taking as it won't change what happened. Accepting the tragic past, he has a clear mind as part of Dumbledore's army. Going back to the main cast, in his second outing, Ezra Miller shows the troubled Credence to be at his most desperate to figure out where he belongs and when he gets the truth, he feels that after everything he's done, he won't be accepted by his bloodline. With that mentality, he will continue to embrace his brute force to those who choose to cross him. Last but not least, Johnny Depp is able to put us on the edge of our seat as Grindelwald. This is the most ambitious and persuasive antagonist we've ever seen in this franchise as he is determined to protect his people from Muggles who he believes are more reckless than him. Believing that he is in the right, only makes him more sadistic than before. And with Credence by his side, he had a great advantage towards Albus.

Cons: Although I respect the new direction that’s taken, it leads to many irritating moments that hold it back from being great like the first. First off, it is bold for President Seraphina (Carmen Ejogo) to order Grindelwald’s tongue to be removed to avoid persuading any more guards, but why didn’t she cast a spell for him to stop speaking? It’s not like she forgot ‘Silencio’, that was unnecessary violence. Also, how the hell does the British Ministry not know that Newt actually saved NY from the Obscurus and helped capture Grindelwald? If they didn’t believe Seraphina, then that is fucking baffling. They also don’t exactly have a clear adjective of having Newt track down Credence when they only met out of luck. I also kinda think it is pointless to introduce Nagini here. I know we some kind of connection to Voldemort and the Potters, but it’s really unnecessary to introduce that doesn’t really do anything other than being a companion to Credence. Because of that, I find it more odd how she chooses to go to Hogwarts at the end when she likely won’t be helpful. This is an origin story I did not ask for. I know Grindelwald is persuasive, but what makes him think Grimmson will live in glory for being by his side? If this is part of the visions he saw like the ones involving Credence, it shouldn’t hurt confirming that knowledge to him. I do think the Zouwu is the coolest creature of the whole film, but how the hell was it quiet in Paris for 24 hours, it’s not like it could be a creature that big can be stealth, nor does it seem to be calm for that long. I then wonder if Paris got obliviated like NY did because I don’t see Tina using that spell when Newt handles the Zouwu. Neither does she use it when Grindelwald calls for his followers in daytime with black banners. I even thought it was dumb to have Torquil Travers (Derek Riddell) tell Dumbledore that Newt is in Paris when he could stop wasting time and just go after him. It’s not like they’re traveling all over the world. I know he is supposed to be onto the popular wizard and needs his help to stop Grindelwald, but he could’ve confronted him about Newt after apprehending him. It’s even dumb of him to say he goes everywhere Credence goes, NY and Paris. I even wonder what was Dumbledore doing when suspended from teaching Defense Against Dark Arts? If he is a counselor, that would suit him, but it wouldn’t hurt acknowledging that. I even wonder why did it take so long to get the water dragon out of Kama if those creatures originate from the creature. He should’ve known what it was the second his body dropped. Jacob is pretty lucky to find Credence and Queenie through Flamel’s crystal ball, but how come Dumbledore didn’t think of this to find the orphan in the first place? Just one request from his friend and Newt wouldn’t even need to search for him. And how exactly does violating a travel restriction put wizards & witches on a most wanted poster? That is nothing compared to what Grindelwald is doing and it’s insane that traveling illegally is worse than being a cultist. And how did Leta not know about Metagots? I know Newt is the expert, but he can’t be the only one with such knowledge. I mean she has to remember at least one biography of the creatures he studies. And when exactly did Credence & Nagini make their way to the cemetery? We see Jacob get there, but not the other two which is freaking weird. I want to buy into the suspense, but it totally backfired even when the extended cut doesn’t clear this up. And lastly, I want to respect Kama’s revenge plot, but why exactly did it take him so long to find Credence? I mean there’s no good reason for him to not search around NY to find him, which he could’ve pulled off since it was so easy for Grindelwald and Newt to make contact with him. It’s more odd than the fact how he chose not to kill Corvus IV before Corvus V was born.

In conclusion, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is a decent entry to its franchise because while it stumbles, there are still interesting things to explore that keep it interesting to witness. It may not be better than the first, but doesn’t need to be. So if you do love the first one, I assure you that this one is worthwhile as well.