"The world as we know it is coming undone. Things that seem unimaginable today will seem inevitable tomorrow."
I'd lost any enthusiasm I had for this spin-off franchise after the terrible previous installment and various behind-the-scenes shenanigans but you know what, this film was actually a lot of fun.
The premise is that nasty wizard Grindelwald (now played by Mads Mikkelsen) is attempting to become Supreme Mugwump, the leader of the Wizarding World, in order to start a war against muggles. Dumbledore (Jude Law), unable to take direct action against Grindelwald because of a blood pact, sends a team consisting of the likes of magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) and muggle Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler) to stop him.
There's lots of great ideas in this film. With Grindelwald able to see snatches of the future, Dumbledore ensures none of his team know the full plan and each has their own role to play. Unlike the previous film this manages to still feel like it fits under the banner of 'Fantastic Beasts' with one creature being vital to the plot, a really fun sequence where Newt has to do some crab dancing to avoid death by some critters in a prison break and even bowtruckle Pickett and niffler Teddy get a hero moment.
One of the most frustrating things about The Crimes of Grindelwald was that it kept teasing plot points without ever really getting to them. Here things are done much better- we learn more about the Dumbledore/Grindelwald relationship and have scenes of the two together, we learn just how Credeance is a Dumbledore and find out what happened to Dumbledore's sister.
Mads Mikkelsen is a welcome addition to the cast and I thought he was far more interesting than his predecessor in the role. Indeed, it's hard to imagine scenes with Jude Law and Johnny Depp being anywhere near as good. Mikkelsen is wonderful in a villain role and his Grindelwald feels much more nuanced and you can understand why he has followers. The scenes with Grindelwald and Dumbledore in are great and Jude Law really feels comfortable in the role here and bounces of Mikkelsen well. It's also great that we get more of American witch Lally Hicks, played by Jessica Williams, who is a great character that I want to see a lot more of.
Somewhat strangely, the main love interest of the franchise Tina has little more than a cameo at the end of the film. This appears to be because actor Katherine Waterston had been quite ill with Covid. I was initially concerned when I first heard this but it's actually dealt with rather well. Newt regularly looks at a photo of Tina being she is still kept very much the forefront of his and the audience's mind and Newt's reunion with her at the end of the film is quite touching.
Despite really quite enjoying the film it's not without it's problems. The focus is a bit confused and it can't really work out if Dumbledore or Newt should be the star. Whilst it does push on the overall plot of the franchise a little, it's only a baby step and seems to be teasing the Wizarding World War- it's about time these films really got on with things.
Certainly not stunning but an improvement and as a fan of the Wizarding World I got a lot out of this.
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