Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald Brings the Magic (Not David Copperfield level, but still

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018)

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, which will be referred to as TCG for the duration of this review, was much better than I expected. The reviews made it seem like it was a boring movie without plot, but I think that most of the negative reviews were from primarily two groups of people; those who didn’t like how the characters acted differently than their fanfics and those who were holding it to the standard of The Deathly Hallows. Both are unfair expectations, and since I am in neither of those categories, I really enjoyed the movie. It added to the mythos of Dumbledore, Grindelwald, and Newt Scamander, but it was skimpy on the development of other characters. I know that many people did not like Nagini being a woman, but they explained it well enough and gave her plenty of room to grow. She was one of the half dozen major plot threads that were left unresolved. If you are looking for closure and a good stand-alone movie, then you have unrealistic expectations for the second movie in a series that will be at least five movies. On the surface, TCG was a cash grab in the Harry Potter universe, but at its core, TCG was a reflection of our times. Grindelwald is a blend of Donald Trump and Thanos. Like Trump, he uses rallies to tell people what they want to hear and to persuade others to go against their own interests, and like Thanos, Grindelwald says he is acting out of benevolence, but is really just seeking more power. The movie does empathize with the regular folks who do side with Grindelwald, even though they are wrong. While there are underlying political themes and the movie is much more serious than its predecessor, there is still plenty of wonder with the new beasts and settings. My favorite part was the increased role of the Nifflers, the pilfering little moles from the first movie. Besides the new fantastic beasts, every human actor did well in their roles, especially Johnny Depp. It was nice to see him as someone besides Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean or Jack Sparrow in a silly hat in Wonderland or Jack Sparrow as an insensitive portrayal of Native Americans or Jack Sparrow as a pale vampire to get old ladies excited or Jack Sparrow as a shadow of Gene Wilder. While many don’t like it now, I believe that TCG will be looked back upon as an important movie to set up future superior installments. This movie was the primer coat before the mural is actually painted. It looks unfinished, but there is potential for greatness. Or potential for disaster. We will have to wait and see, but for now, I’ll enjoy the ride and give Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald 19 out of 24 karats of gold that the adorable Nifflers try to steal.