THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
When JK Rowling brought audiences back to the Wizarding World with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, no one expected to be just as invested as they were with the saga of Harry Potter. Although The Crimes of Grindelwald dropped a lot of baggage, the stakes remained high and exciting for The Secrets of Dumbledore.
PLOT
The sequel takes place in 1932 and the war between Albus Dumbledore and his ex lover Gellert Grindelwald, the latter of which intends to destroy the Muggle world. Unable to go after him due to a blood pact that was made between them years prior, Albus recruits his own army to succeed in stopping the ultimate threat. Magizoologist Newt Scamander was able to help a Qilin give birth, but gets attacked by multiple dark wizards, including Credence Barebone/Aurelius Dumbledore whose slowly dying as a result of his Obscurus . They steal the newborn, but did not notice that the mother gave birth to twins. Newt protected the other newborn, knowing that Grindelwald will kill one to harness its ability of precognition. With at least one step ahead, Newt and a few recruits travel to Berlin to thwart the rest of Grindelwald's plan. The rest of the group include: American No Maj Jacob Kowalski, Newt's assistant Bunty Broadacre, Newt's brother Theseus whose now head of the British Auror, French wizard Yusuf Kama (Half brother of the late Leta Lestrange) and Charms teacher Eulalie Hicks. Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston) would be unable to help due to being promoted as MACUSA's Head Auror. For Yusuf on the other hand, he has the memories of his sister removed from his mind to plant himself as a spy, which gains Grindelwald's trust. The International Confederation of Wizards (ICW) have acquitted the dark wizard for his past criminal charges, which allows him to run in the election for Supreme Leader. The current leader Anton Vogel (Oliver Masucci) has approved of the run despite Albus' attempts to persuade otherwise. With Grindelwald's acolytes having undermined the German Ministry of Magic, they have Theseus falsely arrested and plan to assassinate Brazilian candidate Vicência Santos (Maria Fernanda Cândido). With his brother arrested, Newt would break into the secret German wizarding prison known as the Erkstag to free him. Lally and Jacob succeed in preventing the assassination, but the No Maj gets framed as an assassin which justifies Grindelwald's plan to suppress Muggles. As for Bunty, she is assigned by Albus to duplicate Newt's suitcase into multiple copies. Dumbledore would encounter Credence and quickly defeat him, letting him know that he is still family even though he is not his father. When all meet up at Hogwarts, the next step is to sneak in the Qilin to the Walk of the Qilin ritual, where the said creature will select a worthy leader. With the surviving twin, they must trick the acolytes with the copies of Newt's suitcase. On the night before, Albus chooses to share personal history with Newt. Creedence is not his son, but instead the son of his brother Aberforth. He would then share the reason he and Grindelwald became sworn enemies. One day, he wanted to leave with him, but when his brother didn't approve, it led to a duel that accidentally killed their sister Ariana in the crossfire. Once Grindelwald knows there was a twin Qilin, he uses necromancy to resurrect the twin he killed and manipulate it to pick him as the new Supreme Leader. Despite multiple attempts from his acolytes to get the case on the day of the ritual, Bunty is able to deliver the real one and the un-cursed Qilin naturally decides Albus as Supreme Leader. When he politely declines, the creature would then decide Santos as his replacement. Enraged that his plan foiled, Grindelwald tends to retaliate by killing Credence. However in simultaneous fashion, when he tries to kill him whereas Albus chooses to protect him, this breaks the blood pact and both wizards have their first duel. It would quickly end in a stalemate and Grindelwald would retreat. With the dark wizard retreating, Aberforth would reunite with his son and take him home. Some time after this, Jacob would reunite with Queenie and have their long awaited wedding, a first between Muggles and Wizards/Witches. The film would would end with Albus thanking Newt for his help before he would join Tina and the others for a rare peaceful night to celebrate.
THOUGHTS
The best way to discuss this film is through Pros and Cons.
Pros: Since I had no true hatred towards the last film, I was able to maintain a positive mindset on this follow up and luckily, that is all I took for me to moderately. While not even this has the same quality has the same quality as the first film of this arc, Rowling, co writer Steve Kloves and Director David Yates were able to give us one that is still quite entertaining of a fantasy adventure. The production design and visuals still have a strong foot to bring this fictional universe to life once again. Even though there are different stakes in comparison to the beginning, the beasts are still relevant to the story thanks to the majestic Qilin being the main macguffin. While the Manticore was indeed a suspenseful thing to witness, it was still great to see Teddy the Niffler and Pickett the Bowtruckle still have my attention in adorable fashion, especially when they help Newt rescue his brother. The reason I have been able gain a soft spot for this one would be because of its chance to change the vision you want for yourself and if you don’t manage your priorities, you won’t be happy with the life you lead. In a careful sense, I was able understand this thanks to another memorable ensemble. Jude Law returns to remind us that Albus is always in the right because he understands that although the world is imperfect, cleansing it would only worsen the situation. He accepts that everyone are different and enforcing a proper change doesn’t solve anything. He was originally in love Grindelwald in his younger days because they both expressed similar disappointment and he got himself caught up in the moment with mistakes that were difficult to come back from. Having others help him stop someone he cared about was the best chance he had to save both worlds, otherwise we’d be boomed much faster. Luckily, he trusted the right people that were willing to step up like he would. Since I could not have expected anyone else to play Grindelwald before Johnny Depp got replaced, it did not mean I wouldn’t be open minded about it. Having said that, I deeply believe Mad Mikkelsen does a fine job in making the villain the polar opposite of Albus as expected. He despises the world he lives in and his ambitions make him more cunning with every day that passed. The second Albus claims he laughed when Ariana died, it was the final straw to prove they weren’t meant to be. Since his plans foiled again here, you already know that his downfall was imminent. Controversy aside, Ezra Miller still keeps things interesting within the role of Credence. It’s easy to compare him to Kyle Ren from Star Wars based on how he’s dressed, but it’s more than that. This is someone who was doing what he could to find a belonging and he believed he found that through Grindelwald. Once the latter was showing his true intentions around him, he knew he had to try to make things right before it was too late for him. You feel bad for him because it took almost the end of his life to find the belonging he deserved, which is what happens when he reunites with his father. Although not much was given, Richard Coyle made the most of it was Albus’ brother. Aberforth. From what he get in his given screen time, we quickly understand how grief stricken he is. He got separated from his son and wasn’t able to contact him until it was too late and he deeply missed his sister for a mistake he isn’t sure if it was his. Nevertheless, his heart was still pure because he still cared about his only brother and was willing to take his advice. Knowing that he disapproved of Grindelwald before others would proved how much he’s cared. And the last piece of evidence to prove his heart will definitely how even he tried to protect Credence as Albus would. Whether or not we see another chapter of this saga, I’m positive that Credence was able to be at peace when he reached his end. Again, Albus is indeed a grateful wizard to have a handful of individuals willing to put themselves in harms way for the greater good. Newt Scamander may not be the main lead as he was in the beginning, but Eddie Redmayne is still able to make him just as interesting as he was when first introduced. Noticing how soft spoken he is will always remind us how nervous he is. Yet when the challenges are front and center, he takes them head on and doesn’t stop still he succeeds. He may have not been aware of the whole plan, but we always know that had it not been for him being the first to help, Albus would’ve not been able to succeed as much as he did to save the world. Dan Fogler still has us adore Jacob because even when heartbroken, he was willing to fight for love again and spread the compassion that defines him. Even he didn’t know the whole shtick, but that never stopped him from helping however he can. It’s easy to feel bad for Queenie as well because Alison Sudol shows her take the path similar to Credence, whereas her actions come from wanting to fit in and shows regret just when things get worse. Had she put second thoughts in what she was doing, Jacob wouldn’t have to put himself in harm’s way. Yes she couldn’t have predicted he’d be in that position, but I can’t help admitting there’s always a benefit of thinking it over. With Grindelwald out of her life, it gives the chance for her and Jacob to get the happy ending they deserve. Callum Turner still has us respect Theseus because even after suffering such a loss that was Leta, he did his best maintaining his nobility and kept his head up in aiding the fight against the enemy. I have to say the same with William Nadylam because he played Yusuf as one so selfless that he was willing to give up the rare memories of his sister for the greater good. He was able to still be on the right side by the end of it because he still had the memory that he didn’t agree with Grindelwald’s perspective. So seeing him save the others from the acolytes put us in sweet relief. Of all the unsung heroes, it was a good choice to make it Bunty. Victoria Yeates had us enjoy her presence because she was just as caring as Newt was and was surprisingly more cautious than he was. She had to be the one with the real case because there was a certainty Newt would be be in trouble if he had it. It was a tough secret to keep since her friend so aware for the majority of the time, but this was a sacrifice that had to be made. And I’m sure for the love of her friend, she do it again. Last but not least, the one new character that was able to impress me as well was Lally. Jessica Williams made her stand out for portraying her as the most adventurous of the group. You respect her bravery and her friendliness, but her adventurous attitude stood out the most because it expressed exactly how much she admired the world around him. Having said what I said, each protagonist had their own quality that Albus defined which makes them his perfect army. Looking back at each of them, I believe one missed would’ve changed everything significantly which makes me grateful they were around. If we were to get another chapter, I don’t mind seeing this exact group again stopping Grindelwald.
Cons: I may respect most of the decisions that were made to keep the plot entertaining, but there were a handful of moments that didn’t impress me. Like going into the opening, did Newt really need to travel by raft to get to the Qilin? Whether or not he knew someone like Credence would show up, he should’ve apparated much closer to save himself time. I end up feeling the same way about how he could’ve done so when heading to Berlin if he was nervous about being late. If I’m going to ask anything about the blood pact it’s this: If you feel the pain of the pact from just thinking of going against the other half, that should count for Albus simply talking to Newt & company for doing what he has to do. I can admit it was cool for Albus to have a floating glove to get Newt’s attention on his whereabouts, but even I am aware that is far from incognito as he’s trying to approach it. I respect Lally for proving her point that Jacob will always be a Good Samaritan, but did she have to go as far as she did by staging being bothered by her cousin whose in on it ? I mean that’s like jumping the shark for attention. And here’s a big question when I ask how come Bunty doesn’t go anywhere related to the Wizarding World to have the case replicated? If she doesn’t know the spell to do so, she could’ve went to a wizard/witch that knew the one. Instead, she’s at risk when going to a No-Maj for the job. I know you can’t have every single character involved because the story would be all over the place, but where the hell did Nagini go? You made her such a big deal that she knew Credence only to be absent until becoming Voldemort’s Horcrux. That’s a big waste of a character if you ask me. I can’t help saying this because I ended up shouting ‘BULLSHIT’ when Credence reminds Albus how alone he felt his whole life. Even if he only knew Nagini for a little bit, he wasn’t always alone and it’s stupid of him to forget about her. Of all the stakes that don’t make the most sense, it has to be Grindelwald getting to run for office immediately after the charges got dropped. That is too much of a stretch to give a villain more power than we anticipated. I can’t be the only one who thought it was a bad idea for Lally & Theseus to stick together because even though they did a good job defending themselves, it put themselves in more danger than they had to be. And did that one wizard really have to walk when pursuing Jacob? Even when he gets the wrong case, you’re wasting time by not rushing to kill the No-Maj. On top of that, was it ever part of Albus’ plan for Kacob to get framed for attempting to kill Grindelwald and allow the latter to publicly retaliate? Every time I look back on that scene, I don’t think it ever was. So I feel like Albus or Lally should’ve warned Jacob the risks would be higher. If it was part of the plan, I find it pointless because there is no other proof necessary to remind everyone how evil Grindelwald is. And did any Grindelwald supporter get apprehended? I feel like that should happen since they cheered him on for vowing to go to war with Muggles. Once you realize this plot is somewhat convoluted and remember this is the lowest grossing film in the franchise, it makes a lot of sense of Warner Bros. Discovery to go through a reboot. I don’t want it to happen because we deserve at least one more adventure to properly conclude the war between Dumbledore and Grindelwald, particularly showing how the former earned the Elder Wand. It’s too big of a cliffhanger at this point to leave us without witnessing the resolution of this saga. If you are somehow able to ignore all these issues to generally enjoy this movie, then I wish you good luck.In conclusion, The Secrets of Dumbledore is a better entry for its saga by picking up the pace and knowing exactly what it is. If you still identify as a fan of this franchise, I’m sure that you’ll enjoy this one as well.
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