Director: David Yates
Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Collin Farrell, Alison Sudol, Katherine Waterston, Ezra Miller, Dan Fogler, Jon Voight, Carmen Ejogo, Samantha Morton
Running Time: 133 min
Rating: PG-13
Release: 18th November 2016
Fifteen years after the first Harry Potter film was released, J. K. Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is apparating into cinemas today! The movie, based on a textbook featured on Harry’s syllabus during his time at Hogwarts is set decades before the Potter films we’ve come to know and love, and focuses on the first wizarding war and the rise of Gellert Grindelwald.
The screenplay has been written by J. K. Rowling herself and takes place in 1926 in New York, where Newt Scamander (brilliantly played by Eddie Redmayne) finds himself after being expelled from Hogwarts. The Hufflepuff arrives in the Big Apple with a bottomless Mary Poppins-esque suitcase filled with magical creatures. America in the 1920’s is a dark place, a group of No-Majs (the US equivalent of muggles) are calling for the culling of witches and wizards. Led by Mary-Lou Barebone (Samantha Morton) the New Salem Philanthropic Society, also known as the Second Salemers, aim to expose and eradicate witchcraft. Mary-Lou is a strict woman who is particularly cruel to her adopted son Credence (Ezra Miller), although his sisters Chastity and Modesty (Faith Wood-Balgrove) also incur her wrath from time to time.
Not long after arriving in New York, a mix up with suitcases leaves No-Maj Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler) with the wrong suitcase and the creatures are inadvertently let loose across the city. Meanwhile Newt is hauled in front of the Magical Congress of the USA (MACUSA) by former Auror Tina (Katherine Waterston) where he is confronted by Percival Graves (Colin Farrell), a mysterious wizard who blames his creatures for the monster creating havoc, destroying buildings and killing No-Majs. The three have to work together, alongside Tina’s sister Queenie (Alison Sudol), to recapture all of the magical beings and figure out what’s really killing members of the public.
The film is brilliantly cast with undeniable chemistry between the four lead actors. Redmayne brings an adorable awkwardness and vulnerable side to Newt, which had me championing Hufflepuff long after the film had ended. Jacob is a loyal and faithful friend, steadfastly allowing the three wizard’s to lead him blindly into their world, shyly enamoured with Queenie, while Fogler also bring a strong comedic element to the character – making him one of the most lovable onscreen characters I’ve ever come across. Farrell with his gravelly voice is perfect as the mysterious and dark wizard Graves while Waterston is pragmatic and Sudol perfect as her bubbly legilimens sister.
With a lot of the same crew on board, and director David Yates returning to the franchise after directing the final four Harry Potter films, the movie does retain a Potter-like feel to it. The opening sequence is a throwback to the opening scenes of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince with various excerpts from The New York Ghost flying towards the audience. The costumes, designed by Coleen Atwood help to transport viewers back to the 1920s while the special effects are once again spell-binding.
Being a huge Potter fan and growing up as part of the Harry Potter generation, I’m thrilled to be able to once again enter J. K. Rowling’s magical wizarding world as an adult.
Verdict
[…] Read our review of FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM here […]
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