Logan Sork Film Reviews
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
The Harry Potter series is one of the most iconic franchises in both literature and cinema. The series has delighted viewers everywhere with its epic world building, great characters, and an enthralling story. Naturally when the concluding film in the Harry Potter saga came, fans wondered where the series would go from there and if there would be any expanding on the world set up by the series of films. In 2016, fans of the franchise got to return to the wizarding world in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, written by franchise creator J.K. Rowling. With the film, audiences got to explore a new corner of the Wizarding World with some new characters and a new story being set up to be carried out over the course of several films. While Fantastic Beasts doesn’t quite capture the magic of the original series, it makes up for it with some great creativity, fun characters, and a sets up good things to come.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is directed by David Yates and is the first installment of the Fantastic Beasts series set in JK Rowling’s wizarding world and serves as a prequel to the Harry Potter story. The film centers around Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), a magic zoologist who arrives in 1920’s America with a case filled with magical creatures. While walking the streets of America, e accidently switches cases with a non-wizard Jacob Kowalski (Dan Folger) who accidently releases several magical creatures into the public. An inspector, Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston) who works for the magical congress agrees to help Newt and Jacob track down the creatures before they are punished by the government. Meanwhile, an ancient evil stirs beneath both worlds, threatening to tear each one apart unless it can be stopped.
While Harry’s wonderous world was a lot of fun to learn about in the original series, it was just a small corner of a larger world, and in this film, we finally explore it. J.K. Rowling proves once again that she can create a world that feels just as magical as the original, while also managing to stand on its own. The sheer creativity and world building, from the government and the wizarding society to even the normal world is just wonderful and left me wanting more.
Another place where the film shines creatively is the actual beasts which are (for lack of a better term) fantastic in every way. Every single creature feels unique and different and feels totally real thanks to the impressive visual effects. I also appreciated that they had a wide range of beasts to capture rather than just the big scary ones. Like I said, they left me wanting to explore, without it feeling like they gave me too little.
From a character standpoint, the newcomers aren’t as inviting as the original trio, but this is only the first film focusing on them, so they defiantly left room to grow. Despite this, the characters aren’t without their charm, which Is brought to life through Rowling’s writing and the cast members performances. At first, I didn’t really like Eddie Redmayne, as he felt very twitchy and someone who couldn’t get himself out of a situation without help. As the film went on however and we began to learn more about him, I found myself interested in his character and his relationships. The rest of the cast is also very good, from Catherine Waterston as the aspiring Tina Goldstein to the excellent comic relief from Dan Folger’s Jacob, I think there is defiantly room to grow as this series continues but as it stands, I like what I’m seeing.
From a story perspective, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. Though the main story focuses on the recapturing of the escaped creatures, there are several subplots (one could argue too many) that make the film feel both too big and too small. Some of the subplots aren’t really that interesting, the one involving a politician quite a drag, while others are so big and interesting I found myself wanting to learn more about them than the main story. The film tries to set up future plot points that are so massive and grand, that the main plot of this film ends up becoming inconsequential. It’s by no means a bad story, it’s just one that takes a while to get interesting and never quite leaves you satisfied. Despite the film’s overcrowded story, I never found myself disappointed in the movie as it manages to end on a high note, promising great things to come.
While Fantastic Beasts certainly has problems with its unbalanced narrative, it more than makes up for it with a charming cast of characters, great world building and creativity, and enough burning questions to leave you wanting more, without feeling this movie feeling like a total waste.
7.5/10