Movie Breakdown: Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore

Pre-Screening Stance:

I enjoyed the first Fantastic Beasts film, but the second one was so bad that I still shudder when I think about it. Will things get back on track with The Secrets of Dumbledore? I have no idea, but I’ve got just enough interest left to dive into the franchise one more time.

Post-Screening Ramble:

The good news is that The Secrets of Dumbledore is better than The Crimes of Grindelwald. The bad news is that it isn’t that much better, and it also doesn’t quite do enough to reinvigorate the franchise. The story here picks up where the last one left off, Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen in place of Johnny Depp) is up to no good, and a group consisting of Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), Dumbledore (Jude Law), Kowalski (Dan Fogler), and others are out to stop him. Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller) is around a lot as well, as the mystery of his history is a focus point in the film.

My biggest issue with The Secrets of Dumbledore isn’t the performances, the direction, or anything like that – it’s really just that there doesn’t seem to be a defined point or end to its story. This film wraps exactly as the two before it did and sets up yet enough entry where the basic plot is likely to share the same outline. I guess if you’re a diehard fan, that’s nice, but as a casual wizard admirer, I just can’t get myself to care anymore about wherever this thing is going. So, in the other words, The Secrets of Dumbledore is well made but it doesn’t have a worthwhile enough story to warrant a recommendation. The movie hits theaters this Friday, April 15.

One Last Thought:

While watching TSOD, I couldn’t help but wonder why this whole spinoff-prequel-thingy wasn’t just based on Dumbledore. He’s infinitely more interesting than Newt Scamander (both in the movie and when you weigh Jude Law vs Eddie Redmayne). Missed opportunity, if you ask me.