![]() It's like Kloves is speaking directly to the audience and admitting defeat at keeping anything clear. A purposely convoluted and confusing movie is the only way they can beat the bad guy. They have to make things purposely confusing and hard to follow on purpose, dear reader. Since Grindelwald gains the power to see into the future, a power that is woefully underutilized, the only way to disguise Dumbledore's plot to uncover election fraud is through sheer confusion. Reaching out for help from an industry veteran used to adapting Rowling's imagination is a smart move, but the movie still suffers like the previous Fantastic Beast movie from a plot overburdened with incident and less on substance, willfully obtuse and convoluted in its plotting. I've read plenty of critics claiming that this movie corrects the screenwriting miscues of the past films, and to this I do not agree. It feels like another act of trying to salvage this franchise. This is also the first Fantastic Beasts movie where Rowling is sharing screenplay credit, with Steve Kloves, the man who adapted all but one of the Harry Potter movies. It's a bit different tonally, and perhaps it's time to let Newt tend to his animals off-screen, much like what has happened to Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston), the co-lead of the other movies, casually "staying home." Now it's become a political thriller about the fate of the world against Wizard Hitler. The franchise began as a light distraction with a goofy zookeeper for magical creatures. The entire movie is hinging on this little creature making its opinion known, so why not guard it better if it's so integral to their foundation of wizarding governance (warning: animal cruelty early)? This plot line does not work for me, and it feels clumsy both in contemporary political parallels as well as an effort to find reason to continue inserting Newt Scamander into these movies. Why bother with democratic elections when we can just have a pure magical creature provide its endorsement? The big scheme for Grindelwald to rig the election at any costs, which has a bizarre 2020 Donald Trump political parallel that also makes me dislike the plot more. It's like if we replaced our electoral system with letting the groundhog choose the president on Groundhog Day. This is a fantasy world with crazy characters and weird rules and I can't adequately explain why this whole plot point with a magic deer wrings so silly and ridiculous for me. ![]() That's why it's so bizarre to then go right into a weird election conspiracy with a weird magic deer creature. The last movie set the stage for a looming wizard-vs-wizard civil war that would push the magic world to choose its sides. By the end of the movie, Wizard Hitler still looks like Wizard Hitler. It's hard for me to fathom anyone, even the most ardent of Harry Potter fans, watching this movie and exclaiming, "I can't wait for two more of these!" The Secrets of Dumbledore feels more like a regular episode of an ongoing TV series than a story that demanded to be told as a big screen adventure, something that meaningfully reassembles the key characters and moves the larger wizarding world story forward. The third film, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, finds young(er) Dumbledore (Jude Law) confronting his old foe –- franchise fatigue. Now with COVID transforming the box-office, the question remains whether the Wizarding World franchise (as Warner Brothers has been calling the Harry Potter universe) can survive without its Boy Who Lived. In the years since, Rowling has burned through much of her good will with transphobic comments, Johnny Depp has been replaced as series villain Grindelwald by Mads Mikkelsen, and 2018's Crimes of Grindelwald made $150 million less than its predecessor. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, chronicling bashful magical animal caretaker Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), made $800 million worldwide. Rowling was the one writing the screenplays this time and going back to 1920s America. Begun in 2016 as a presumed five-part series, Harry Potter author J.K. ![]() If ever a film franchise looked to be in decline, I submit to you, the Fantastic Beasts movies. Original Language: English (United Kingdom) Rating: PG-13 (Some Fantasy Action/Violence) But with the stakes so high, how long can Dumbledore remain on the sidelines? Unable to stop him alone, he entrusts Magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) to lead an intrepid team of wizards, witches and one brave Muggle baker on a dangerous mission, where they encounter old and new beasts and clash with Grindelwald's growing legion of followers. Professor Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) knows the powerful Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen) is moving to seize control of the wizarding world. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |