The prequel franchise of J. K. Rowling’s wizarding world mythology, “Fantastic Beasts,” less magical but more full of fantastic beasts, is welcoming Potterheads to the movie theaters this week with its third edition: “The Secrets of Dumbledore.” Even though the movie achieves its attempt to salvage the two previous films, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” and “The Crimes of Grindelwald,” the narrative plot lacks a grounding – specifically in terms of Dumbledore’s famous secrets.
Directed by Harry Potter veteran David Yates, the movie opens with a scene where professor Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) and dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen) discuss the muggle world (non-wizards), with Grindelwald eventually threatening, “With or without you I will burn down their world.” Having gained followers in the magical community, Grindelwald rages war against all who oppose him. Seems familiar? The movie has plenty of political references to the real world.
Dumbledore brings together a team of wizards and one muggle. Led by magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), they embark on a dangerous journey against Grindewald’s hateful war that is shaking the wizarding world.
After the replacement of Johnny Depp – his career is going through a rough time after his divorce with actress Amber Heard – Mads Mikkelsen appears as Gellert Grindelwald. I must say that Mikkelsen, who is a great actor in all of his roles, adds depth to the villain, saluting his Hannibal Lecter role, channeling a psychopathic, creepy and less cartoonish vibe. Also, the Grindelwald figure seems to be grounded thanks to the Mikkelsen effect.
As Grindelwald is determined to burn down the muggle world, the timing of the war coincides with when a Nazi chancellor of Germany comes to power. World war fascism seems to be reflected in the magical world. Even Grindelwald’s new haircut hails from Hitler’s style. This political plotting in fiction seems to mirror reality. Within this frame, I think the movie’s political plotting is quite successful in reconciling the audience with reality at one point, especially in terms of costumes and the rich visual depictions of Germany’s Weimar-era Berlin. The absence of such a clear political reference in other movies sets this movie apart from other series of the wizarding world.
The narrative of the series revolves around a creature called “Qilin.” This rare animal has an innate ability to see into a person’s soul and pure heart. Thanks to its ability, the Qilin plays an integral part in Dumbledore’s struggle to stop Grindelwald, as this beast gets to decide who would be the new leader of the wizarding world. Among all the candidates, the Qilin would go to each candidate, bowing to the one that would be the chosen leader. Qilin is also rooted in Chinese mythology, where its birth heralded the arrival of a new leader.
Not surprisingly, our Qilin bows down to Dumbledore, who was not a candidate. However, it functions to clean up a little bit of Dumbledore’s bad reputation, who is suspected of being guilty of his sister’s death, as his ill-judged actions implicated in the “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.” At the end of the day, except the personal and family intrigues that all Harry Potter fans are familiar with, no more of Dumbledore’s secrets are revealed, I’m sorry to say.
However, I think there is a disconnect in the narrative progression that disrupts the film. Although some long lines delivered by characters aim to summarize the subject and try to get the audience into the story, they leave the narrative hanging in the air. I am not sure if this is due to a distrust of screenplay or the thought that the former two “Fantastic Beasts” films were not watched because they did not achieve the hoped-for success.
Still, as a Potterhead myself, I think fans will satisfy their longing for the Potter series after seeing Hogwarts and the flying snitch accompanied by the Harry Potter theme. As a bonus, we get to see the younger versions of well-known Hogwarts professors such as McGonagall in this edition.
Overall, this is how the story ends: not with a bang, but with a whimper. Watching “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” in the movie theaters promises a good time, but you can experience the same enjoyment at your home theater accompanied by popcorn.
The prequel franchise of J. K. Rowling’s wizarding world mythology, “Fantastic Beasts,” less magical but more full of fantastic beasts, is welcoming Potterheads to the movie theaters this week with its third edition: “The Secrets of Dumbledore.” Even though the movie achieves its attempt to salvage the two previous films, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” and “The Crimes of Grindelwald,” the narrative plot lacks a grounding – specifically in terms of Dumbledore’s famous secrets.
Directed by Harry Potter veteran David Yates, the movie opens with a scene where professor Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) and dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen) discuss the muggle world (non-wizards), with Grindelwald eventually threatening, “With or without you I will burn down their world.” Having gained followers in the magical community, Grindelwald rages war against all who oppose him. Seems familiar? The movie has plenty of political references to the real world.
Dumbledore brings together a team of wizards and one muggle. Led by magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), they embark on a dangerous journey against Grindewald’s hateful war that is shaking the wizarding world.
After the replacement of Johnny Depp – his career is going through a rough time after his divorce with actress Amber Heard – Mads Mikkelsen appears as Gellert Grindelwald. I must say that Mikkelsen, who is a great actor in all of his roles, adds depth to the villain, saluting his Hannibal Lecter role, channeling a psychopathic, creepy and less cartoonish vibe. Also, the Grindelwald figure seems to be grounded thanks to the Mikkelsen effect.
As Grindelwald is determined to burn down the muggle world, the timing of the war coincides with when a Nazi chancellor of Germany comes to power. World war fascism seems to be reflected in the magical world. Even Grindelwald’s new haircut hails from Hitler’s style. This political plotting in fiction seems to mirror reality. Within this frame, I think the movie’s political plotting is quite successful in reconciling the audience with reality at one point, especially in terms of costumes and the rich visual depictions of Germany’s Weimar-era Berlin. The absence of such a clear political reference in other movies sets this movie apart from other series of the wizarding world.
The narrative of the series revolves around a creature called “Qilin.” This rare animal has an innate ability to see into a person’s soul and pure heart. Thanks to its ability, the Qilin plays an integral part in Dumbledore’s struggle to stop Grindelwald, as this beast gets to decide who would be the new leader of the wizarding world. Among all the candidates, the Qilin would go to each candidate, bowing to the one that would be the chosen leader. Qilin is also rooted in Chinese mythology, where its birth heralded the arrival of a new leader.
Not surprisingly, our Qilin bows down to Dumbledore, who was not a candidate. However, it functions to clean up a little bit of Dumbledore’s bad reputation, who is suspected of being guilty of his sister’s death, as his ill-judged actions implicated in the “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.” At the end of the day, except the personal and family intrigues that all Harry Potter fans are familiar with, no more of Dumbledore’s secrets are revealed, I’m sorry to say.
However, I think there is a disconnect in the narrative progression that disrupts the film. Although some long lines delivered by characters aim to summarize the subject and try to get the audience into the story, they leave the narrative hanging in the air. I am not sure if this is due to a distrust of screenplay or the thought that the former two “Fantastic Beasts” films were not watched because they did not achieve the hoped-for success.
Still, as a Potterhead myself, I think fans will satisfy their longing for the Potter series after seeing Hogwarts and the flying snitch accompanied by the Harry Potter theme. As a bonus, we get to see the younger versions of well-known Hogwarts professors such as McGonagall in this edition.
Overall, this is how the story ends: not with a bang, but with a whimper. Watching “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” in the movie theaters promises a good time, but you can experience the same enjoyment at your home theater accompanied by popcorn.