Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)

“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” stars Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Jon Voight, Carmen Ejogo, and Colin Farrell.  Released on November 18, 2016, the film is about a wizard who sets out to recover the creatures that are accidentally unleashed upon 1920s New York.

The film is directed by David Yates, who is known for directing the last four installments of the Harry Potter film series.  It is based on the 2001 book of the same name by J.K. Rowling and serves as a spin-off of the Harry Potter franchise.  I remembered watching the Harry Potter films a few years ago, especially Deathly Hallows, but I didn’t get a chance to watch any of them again because I was really busy with some adult responsibilities.  Luckily, Hollywood decided to bring J.K Rowling’s wizarding world back to the big screen in a brand new way...by focusing on the characters that doesn’t include Harry Potter.  After the mildly disappointing results of his last film, The Legend of Tarzan, it’s nice to have David Yates returning to the franchise since he successfully completed Potter’s journey five years ago.  So, is this latest spin-off worth a trip back to the magical universe that we know and love?

Pros:
Good performances, including Redmayne as Newt Scamander.

Some of the visuals were quite impressive, especially the creature designs.

The characters were likable, though not as memorable as Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

James Newton Howard’s score.

Cons:
The story can be a bit underwhelming and predictable at times.

Some moments felt a bit rushed.

Final thoughts: Despite the story not having the same emotional feel as Harry Potter’s adventures at Hogwarts, “Fantastic Beasts” marks a welcoming return to J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world thanks to some likable characters and its remarkable visuals.  It’s a pretty impressive start of a possible franchise, but we’ll see how it does at the box office before we start talking sequels.  If you’re a fan of the Fantastic Beasts book and the Harry Potter film series, I would definitely recommend this film to you.  Maybe someday, if I have the time, I will revisit some of the Harry Potter films so that I can fully get into Rowling’s universe more.  Until then, this will have to do.

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