The third installment of the Potter-verse prequels, “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore,” is remarkably unremarkable, with little to no magic or charm attached. Nonetheless, it is still the best of the three prequels (thanks to Jessica Williams for stealing the show).
When the “Fantastic Beasts” franchise started in 2016 with its first installment, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” it was supposed to kickstart the magical world of “Harry Potter” once again; it’s a world that many my age grew up with and adore dearly. However, it didn’t come close to having the magic, oohhs and aahhs, or charm that the originals had. It was a genuine disappointment; yet as a Potter fan, I held my head high and thought there might be something better ahead.
Despite Problems, ‘The Secrets of Dumbledore’ is the Best of the ‘Fantastic Beasts’ Series
Unfortunately, I was wrong. The follow-up, “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” was even more flawed; it is, by far, the worst installment of the enchanting Potter-verse. It seemed that director David Yates was losing his skills as a storyteller and failing to deliver the balancing act of entertainment and dramatic tension. The film was a total snooze fest; however, a couple more movies are to come, albeit recently, they have been put on pause. Now, the third installment, “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore,” arrives; and although it is the best one so far out of this new series, it has a multitude of problems.
The film begins with a quick meeting between Professor Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) and the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (the newly-cast Mads Mikkelsen); they briefly discuss their past romance and the possible war of pure-blood wizards against the muggles around the world. This is followed by a small action set piece revolving around the birth of an important beast that serves as a central plot point for the story, yet it is pretty dull.
The sequences are better choreographed this time around, and some new spells are being used.”
Regardless, the story is about the fight between two past lovers. One is trying to protect the world, while the other moves to seize control of the wizarding world. Dumbledore knows that he can’t stop Grindelwald alone, so he entrusts magizoologist and former student Newt Scamander to gather a team of wizards and witches, which include his brother Theseus (Callum Turner), his good friend Jacob (Dan Fogler), Bunty (Victoria Yeates), Yusuf Kama (William Nadylam), and Professor Eulalie (Jessica Williams). They agree to help, although they’re unknowing of the perils that lie ahead. In their steps towards saving non-wizards, they encounter old and new beasts as well as some of Grindelwald’s followers.
Jessica Williams is a Highlight of the Film
As I mentioned before, the problems are plentiful. Some even arrive without the film initiating as it has had a series of bad luck: casting issues, no clear direction, its reason for existing (which is obviously for monetary reasons), among others. Let’s start on the brighter side of things and discuss the positive aspects first.
Although its action set pieces are not that captivating, it is the most entertaining one out of the three released. The film’s sequences use better choreography this time around, and also use some new spells. Some new characters introduced in this picture remind you how charming and effervescent the leads of this tale can be. To be more specific, the two that stood out the most for me were Jessica Williams’ Eulalie (the highlight of the movie) and Victoria Yeates’ Bunty. Both embody the likable characteristics and silliness of the memorable Hogwarts professors like Gilderoy Lockhart, Pomona Sprout, and Sybill Trelawney. My favorite of the two was Eulalie, due to Bunty being left to do a single task the entire movie.
From the minute Williams arrives on screen, I want her to stay and guide us through the entire journey instead of bumbly Newt Scamander (whose buttery performance isn’t worthy of being the central hero). One of this franchise’s main problems is the lack of emotional attachment. Since this is a prequel, you already know what happens to most of these characters by the end. But that isn’t the main gist; the issues come from the poor screenplay and storytelling. The film doesn’t flesh out most of the characters enough for you to invest in them.
Nostalgia as a Main Mechanism Rather than Story
It hurts even more when the film writes off a couple of main characters from the other two features by employing feeble excuses. My favorite character from the first is Porpentina Goldstein. In this one, she disappears from the narrative entirely, even though she was key in the fight against Grindelwald (Katherine Waterston doesn’t deserve this). Other characters that have nothing to do here are Theseus, Credence (who was being built up as one of the main antagonists), and Queenie.
The crew involved wants to fix the mistakes of the previous installment, but their way of improving them is by doing a “Rise of Skywalker”-esque movie–a film that uses nostalgia as its main attraction rather than delivering a fresh story. I didn’t expect a great piece of work; however, I did expect it to fulfill its popcorn promises. I truly wanted to have fun with this prequel franchise once and for all as a Potter fan.
Nonetheless, it is disappointing once again. A few things here and there work, but ultimately it feels half-hearted. It isn’t near to being proper storytelling or blockbuster entertainment. In comparison, it is the best of the prequels, but saying that isn’t much since they are all close to being horrid. “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” is remarkably unremarkable, with almost none of the magic attached to the carefully crafted world of Harry Potter.
Currently, “Fantastic Beasts 3: The Secrets of Dumbledore” is only available to watch in theaters.
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