Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore review – Still missing the magic
The new film is not without its charms, but this still feels like a franchise unsure what it wants to be.
It’s hard to argue with the fact that public appetite for the Fantastic Beasts films isn't anywhere near as high as it once was. Whereas the first film in the series – released back in December 2016 – was fairly warmly received, the second fared far less well with critics, and a number of factors have since conspired to ensure demand for the third entry hasn't exactly been deafening.
But now, more than three years after the previous film – and with a key casting change in a major role – that third entry has arrived. In Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, we rejoin Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law), and co for another magical period adventure that takes them to places as far-flung as Berlin, Bhutan, and Hogsmeade as they continue the fight against dark wizard and Dumbledore's former flame Gellert Grindelwald.
This time around, the villain is aiming to enhance his standing in the wizarding world by running to be the new head of the International Confederation of Wizards, after he is cleared of his various crimes by the current chief due to a supposed lack of evidence.
As for the Fantastic Beasts of the title, the key magical creature on this occasion is a Qilin – a beast borrowed from Chinese mythology which plays a major role in the plan to foil Grindelwald's rise.
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After the extremely convoluted nature of the second film, it's a relief to discover that the narrative is far more streamlined this time around, with a fairly contained storyline that for the most part manages to be relatively coherent.
Perhaps this is a result of Steve Kloves' influence – the former Harry Potter screenwriter has been drafted in to assist JK Rowling, and the result is something that has a much better shape and structure.
There are other virtues too: Eddie Redmayne's Newt feels a lot less incidental to the action than he did in the previous entry, and there are several moments that work a treat in terms of pure entertainment value – especially a riotous scene in which Newt must perform a bizarre dance to ensnare some pesky creatures during a vital rescue mission.
And yet some of the other issues remain. The film is still too long, while the script continues to regularly fall into the pitfalls of telling rather than showing – too often falling back on exposition when filling in assorted backstories.
It also doesn't always strike the right balance between dark Harry Potter prequel and fun magical animal romp, and much of the action seems to have little significance in terms of the overall arc of the series.
Some of the characters, meanwhile, are rather underserved – so many figures have been introduced over the course of the three films, and it can sometimes feel like the film is struggling to give them all meaningful things to do.
William Nadylam's Yusuf Kama in particular seems almost completely superfluous, while the storyline concerning Ezra Miller's Credence – built up as such a key character in the first two films – winds up feeling a little rushed.
Meanwhile, Katherine Waterston's Tina is almost entirely absent from this film, which is especially odd considering she had been one of the shining lights of the franchise up to this point.
Of course, the big casting news for this film was the introduction of Mads Mikkelsen as Grindelwald, after Johnny Depp was asked to leave the role. There are few film stars around today more reliable at portraying villains than Mikkelsen, so it's no surprise that he's a chilling presence, even if this doesn't exactly feel like new territory for the Danish actor.
Perhaps one of the main problems with the film, and indeed with this franchise in general, is its continued over-reliance on cheap nostalgia – for example, the swelling of the original Harry Potter theme music, the cameo from a younger Minerva McGonagall, the visits to places familiar from earlier books and films.
It's understandable that there's a desire to tie in these films with the previous ones, but it all ends up feeling a little forced – and even these moments, the scenes at Hogwarts, the sight of a Golden Snitch, don't have the same appeal. Frankly, it's hard to shake the fact that a lot of the magic seems to have worn off.
There is a lot of fun to be had with Newt's magical menagerie, especially the appearances of his reliable companions Teddy the Niffler and Pickett the Bowtruckle – who end up coming to the rescue in one key scene – but compared to the first film they still seem to be consigned to the background for a good chunk of the runtime.
It all contributes to a sense that three films in, this is a franchise that still isn't entirely sure of its own identity – and it means that despite some good moments and some clear improvements, the overall film still falls a bit flat.
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore will be released in UK cinemas on Friday 8th April 2022. Visit our Movies hub for more news and features and find something to watch tonight with our TV Guide.
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Authors
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
