Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore 2022
I just recently watched the disappointing second episode of this series so I could watch this third episode in theaters. I thought the second was overstuffed with characters and details, while it lacked a good story or compelling characters. I do think they got the message (not from me) because they cut the cast down some for this movie. Unfortunately the movie still suffers from characters we don’t care that much about and whose motivations seem unknowable. Obviously there are parallels with Hitler’s Germany just as there were in the Harry Potter series, but this time with an actual election for the leader of the wizarding world, in Germany around the time of Hitler. The election makes this movie more political, but with made up politics and, like with many movies, no real understanding of how politics work. Jude Law as Dumbledore has a larger part and he is very well suited for it. Mads Mikkelsen replaces Johnny Depp as the main bad guy, Grindelwald. Mikkelsen plays him as a more natural person than Depp’s cartoon character, but it seems too similar to Mikkelsen’s work in other movies, mostly smug mean looks. Like the other movies in the series, this movie is fun to watch, but so many things that happen aren’t explained despite tons of other things getting explanation. Eddie Redmayne continues to be a weak link with no real spark or beliefs. His abilities with animals are helpful, but otherwise he seems like part of the supporting cast, which one review I read said, is the same for all of the cast. And that is the problem with the series and why it seems to be spinning its wheels. The characters need to be doing things at least in their own lives even if it is not in service of the movie. With five movies in the series, character definining things should be happening while an arc slowly develops. Instead everything is in service of the arc.
Anyway, this is a little better movie than the second one, making a few improvements, but also repeating many of the problems of the whole series. It is entertaining, but too often baffling, and frequently coming down to anything being possible in a world of magic. The spoilers below go into greater detail but give away the whole movie.
Written: 01 May 2022