In order to thwart the evil "Grindelwald" (Johnny Depp) from creating his own Arian version of enforcers for the wizardly world, "Dumbledore" (Jude Law) drafts in his talented understudy "Newt" (Eddie Redmayne) to help him out. Unfortunately, their nemesis has recently escaped from high-security custody and so the Ministry needs help for their men "Abernethy" (Kevin Guthrie) and "Theseus" (Callum Turner) too. Perhaps if these three can join forces - at wands length - then they can track down the evil "Grindelwald" and his own young and disturbed protégé "Credence" (the all too sparingly featured Ezra Miller) who himself may be the last in a long line of pure-bloods. With all now set for a gripping and exciting vat and mouse adventure, I don't really understand why this didn't work. The ingredients are all there: the acting talents are formidable and the visual effects are genuinely impressive - but the film is completely flat. There's not an hint of passion or emotion throughout. Depp looks bored by the whole proceedings and though Redmayne tries to imbue his character with a sense of honourable mischief, even that comes across as dry and procedural. Perhaps just too much emphasis has been placed on the sophisticated look of the film? There's nowhere near enough of an anchor in the plot to keep anyone interested in the characters and instead I just found myself looking at my watch wondering if this had much longer to go. Funnily enough, this might have worked better if you'd just read it and imagined much of what's presented to us here - at least then you might have been a little more invested in the sinisterness of the threat. Instead, though, it's all just dull and doesn't really build on the antagonisms of racial prejudice and supremacy that obviously underpin this second feature. It does need to be seen in a cinema. It's grand cinematography - luckily they'd kept the set for "Hogwarts" and score from James Newton Howard give it some sense of occasion, but it's much like the first film and is very much a victory for style over substance.

Well, there was one too many twists here and I only say that because it was unnecessary. The plot would have been cleaner if they just let that one go...and don't worry, you'll know what is being mentioned when you watch it. It would have worked in a novel, but in a screen play it just made it a bit messy and loose. And, unfortunately, that is what the critics are going to focus on. But then, J.K. is a novelist and it got a bit lost in translation from one writing style to another. But, beyond that you have a wonderful cast and the film as a whole is delightfully fun. Eddie Redmayne is once more the lead, and he does a decent job...but what is better is how generous both Johnny Depp and Jude Law were in the film. Each have, in their day, stolen a show or two. They are both fully capable of stealing the spotlight...but instead they took a step back rather than hogging any of the limelight and, as a result, it allowed for everyone involved to deliver a solid performance. It could have easily gone the way of a Russel Crowe film with Law and Depp involved...however they didn't do the Crowe-hog and because of that the film ended up with more balance than it should have with the unnecessary plot turn. In other-words, they helped bring it back from being truly over blown. So what do you get? You get to walk into the weird world of Harry Potter again, and that is always fun. You get adventure and mystery and, again, that is always fun. You get decent performances and a solid (if bloated plot) and you walk away entertained. It's worth viewing even if it is unbalanced. It's still entertaining and fun and, after all, that is the point of making a movie.

Confused, lost, Johnny Depp always awesome. I think the days of me playing in the Harry Potter world are over.

Better than its predecessor, even if I still didn't really dig it. 'Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald' has more of a vibe about it, especially early on, and is marginally better paced. Overall, though, I'm kinda split on how I feel about this second instalment. It is a definite improvement, and yet I don't have any noteworthy positives to share about it. The cast, despite names I like, are just so forgettable to me in this. As such, I don't feel like I can give it any more than a 6/10 rating - which feels harsh, but 7/10 feels too high. With that said, I still plan to check out 'Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore'. It just needs that little extra oomph and these would be films that I'd enjoy, so hopefully that 2022 release will produce.

I re-watched the original _Fantastic Beasts_ today to prep for _Crimes of Grindelwald_ and it made me realise that the only reason I gave that first film a positive review was because of Queenie Goldstein. She's just **such** a sweetheart. Her character wasn't the **only** thing I liked about that movie, but without her, it still gets pushed down into Rotten. So when they took her in this one and first made her a rapist and then a Nazis, I was uh... Not exactly stoked. But that's a personal thing, and I try to, at least partially, put that aside and review on things like technical aspect. And in that Avenue, _Crimes of Grindelwald_ is an **abysmal** failure. This is not the outright worst film of the year, but it was definitely the worst one I've seen in cinemas for a long damn time. _Final rating:½: - Boring/disappointing. Avoid where possible._

The first Fantastic Beasts movie was excellent. It was a bright and magical adventure. This one is going down another path and I cannot say that I was overly thrilled by that. This movie is putting emphasis on political machinations, division between the wizards and the non-wizards, betrayals etc. etc. Take away the magic component and you really have a fairly regular racial-differences, humans are bad and all that, movie of the kind that Hollywood is all too eager to mass produce these days. Sure it is not as blunt, preachy and totally ridiculous as a lot of their creations but still … not the path I wanted these movies to take. At least there are plenty of magic and beasts around in this movie to make the dark and, at times, boring story a bit more compelling. The magic and the beasts, i.e. the special effects, are really the most enjoyable part of this movie. I was not too keen about Newt already in the first movie and he is not any better in this one. He is simply too nerdy and insecure for my taste. I prefer main protagonists that are more assertive and active. Having said that he is still a likable chap in general. Queenie is still annoying as hell though. I was very positively surprised by Johnny Depp as Grindelwald though. I was not at all sure that his normal half crazy and comical acting style would make for a good main bad guy. However, he worked very well in the role. The end is pretty much a big cliffhanger and not exactly on a good note. This is actually a fairly sad movie overall which is perhaps one reason that I, personally, did not feel overly impressed by it. That is not too say that it is not a good movie. It is just that is is not the kind of story I hoped for.

The first Fantastic Beasts movie was excellent. It was a bright and magical adventure. This one is going down another path and I cannot say that I was overly thrilled by that. This movie is putting emphasis on political machinations, division between the wizards and the non-wizards, betrayals etc. etc. Take away the magic component and you really have a fairly regular racial-differences, humans are bad and all that, movie of the kind that Hollywood is all too eager to mass produce these days. Sure it is not as blunt, preachy and totally ridiculous as a lot of their creations but still … not the path I wanted these movies to take. At least there are plenty of magic and beasts around in this movie to make the dark and, at times, boring story a bit more compelling. The magic and the beasts, i.e. the special effects, are really the most enjoyable part of this movie. I was not too keen about Newt already in the first movie and he is not any better in this one. He is simply too nerdy and insecure for my taste. I prefer main protagonists that are more assertive and active. Having said that he is still a likable chap in general. Queenie is still annoying as hell though. I was very positively surprised by Johnny Depp as Grindelwald though. I was not at all sure that his normal half crazy and comical acting style would make for a good main bad guy. However, he worked very well in the role. The end is pretty much a big cliffhanger and not exactly on a good note. This is actually a fairly sad movie overall which is perhaps one reason that I, personally, did not feel overly impressed by it. That is not too say that it is not a good movie. It is just that is is not the kind of story I hoped for.