Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore Review

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is the third installment of the Fantastic Beasts series in the wizarding world of Harry Potter. It opens in theaters April 15th!

Score: 3.5 out of 5

Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 2hrs 16mins

No spoilers!!!

Wowsers…it is so nice to be back in theaters seeing quality films come to life on the big screen, the CGI is amazing. This movie is every reason to get out and head to a theater this spring as it is a visual delight. It redeemed the shortcomings of the 2nd film, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. Grindelwald is now played by actor, Mads Mikkelsen having replaced Johnny Depp. Mikkelsen brings a depth of evil to his character that Depp could not. The very intense opening scene between Dumbledore (Jude Law) is much more believable with Mikkelsen. There are a few secrets exposed in this film…but none will make you spit out your butterbeer in surprise. 

The film, however, left a lot on the table, the magic was here and there, but true Potter fans will find it lacking. We were given some fan service midway through the film but it lacked the Potter magic. Newt Scamander, our beloved quirky magizoologist, took much more of a backseat to the storyline as Dumbledore was the main character driving the plot. I would have preferred a little more of Newt and Theseus. The scene with them in the prison dancing with the scorpion-like beasts was one of the best scenes in the whole film. And muggle sidekick, Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler) was superb in his role as always providing comic relief.

The beasts (animals) themselves were part of the film, as the rare quilin played an important role, but there were some hard to watch scenes and not enough beasts in a fantastic beasts film. 

Jude Law did a great job developing our understanding of a younger Albus Dumbledore, who we learn has been hit with lots of painful experiences in his life. I enjoyed the storyline for the most part. And with a supposed two more prequel films to go, we can only hope they can continue to improve.

Synopsis: 

Professor Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) knows the powerful Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen) is moving to seize control of the Wizarding World. 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. But with the stakes so high, how long can Dumbledore remain on the sidelines?