Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)

 

After the massive juggernaut that was 'Harry Potter' came to a conclusion, it stood to reason to keep the gravy train going. Hence, it was decided to do a prequel of sorts. Well, actually more different stories within the same universe that aren't necessarily connected save for a few characters here and there perhaps. The first of these outings would focus on Newt Scamander during the 1920s, as he is trying to compile his book on magical creatures and how to either take care of them or how to approach them. 

Not a bad idea, actually. Just a shame the film doesn't really stick the landing.

Newt Scamander travels to New York under false pretenses. He claims to be on the hunt to buy some exotic creatures, but he actually wants to release a thunderbird into the wild yet again. However, he couldn't have picked a worse time, as mysterious happenings abound when some unseen force destroys houses and the like and no one can pinpoint what it is. But one can see it is obvious the finger might be pointed at Newt.

However, they don't really do anything with this.

In fact, the crux of the plot is a fringe group hellbent on seeking out and destroying witches. No one truly takes them seriously but as events rack up, things do take a turn for the worse for magical people. Add to that an extremely obvious bad guy at the American Ministry of Magic (or its equivalent) and events get going...

The main issue with this film is that its focus isn't in the right place. See, our main character is actually not interesting at all, and he is played so infuriatingly geeky by Eddie Redmayne, it is hard to like Newt in the first place. It's like he took a look at mid 90s fumbling, stumbling Hugh Grant and then dialled the affectations up to eleven.

It grates on the nerves.

Next to that, the story is all over the place and everything is unfocused. This might also explain why large swaths of this film are almost instantly forgotten. I've seen this one three times and I constantly forget the 'Witch Hunt'-subplot or the Obscurial-idea. Both ideas aren't bad, but they get snowed under because the film has trouble deciding where its focus needs to be. 

What this film does have going for it, are the designs of the creatures and especially the secondary characters, who are so much more enjoyable than the mail cast. Especially Dan Fogler as the hapless human who gets dragged into all the events is a joy to behold. I'd love to see more of him instead of him being relegated to comic relief, as he truly steals every scene he's in. Apart from that? Most people are pretty forgettable. 

'Fantastic Beasts' is a mixed bag. Hardcore fans of the franchise will probably enjoy this one more than the average viewer, but it is still a shame they didn't point their attention to a few ideas less and fleshed them out more thoroughly. It would have absolutely made for a better film overall.