Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

The Harry Potter series was one that I was slow to become a fan of, in fact, they were 4 films in by the time I started watching the movies.  I learned to love them though and the wonderful characters of the wizarding world.  So when I heard they were making more films in that universe I was really excited.  When I heard the first one would be set in 1920s New York I was even more excited.  Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, doesn’t fully live up to my high expectations.

Newt Scamander, played by Eddie Redmayne, shows up in New York with his case full of magical creatures.  We are introduced to a protest group trying to root out and destroy and witches, though they are largely seen as crazy since the magical world was still hidden away.  We also come to learn that there is some strange magical force roaming the city destroying buildings and causing mayhem.  One of Newt’s creature’s gets out in a bank and causes all sorts of mayhem for him and a no-mag (American term for muggle), Kowalski, who is just at the bank to get a loan and open a bakery.

The two men get their bags mixed up and a number of creatures get loose that they have to track down.  They are joined by a former magical law enforcement officer and her flirtatious sister.  This cast of characters, while not quite as lovable as the the Hogwarts kids, is still an endearing bunch that you can’t help but root for.  The plot is messy, but the conclusion is very satisfying and I think future films will be much better.

My biggest disappointment with this film is that it had a distinct lack of magical creatures.  The missing creatures plot line felt like a throw in compared to all of the broader storylines that were introduced.  Its a very different world than the one we know of from the Harry Potter films and that becomes very clear.  For as silly as some of the moments are the film takes itself incredibly seriously. 

There was one action sequence that was present in slow motion with very intense music, that I couldn’t help but laugh at because of how ridiculous it was.  It just seems so odd to try to add so much weight and sense of urgency to such a far-fetched and laughable situation.  The film was a good time, but little else.  Its certainly no Harry Potter, but I do think there is hope for the sequels to be better.  

Rating 7/10