2.5 stars. Rated PG-13, for dramatic intensity and fantasy violence
By Derrick Bang
J.K. Rowling should have quit while she was ahead.
This newest glimpse into the Potterverse will be virtually impenetrable to first-time visitors, and even avid fans may have trouble keeping up. The information and character dumps are overwhelming, with Rowling — as scripter — apparently assuming that viewers will recall every little detail not only from this series’ first entry (2016’s Fantastic Beasts), but also bits and bobs from earlier Harry Potter adventures.
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| Having successfully infiltrated the French Ministry of Magic, in search of crucial information, Newt (Eddie Redmayne) and Tina (Katherine Waterston) are about to be attacked by guardian Matagots. |
Which would be fine, if Rowling presented at least some pertinent detail and back-story along the way, but no; this is instant full immersion, and the tough luck for those unable to keep up.
But that isn’t the only problem. Director David Yates and editor Mark Day assemble this film quite sloppily, with multiple storylines hopping and skipping back and forth, in a manner as aggressively chaotic as the massive Chinese Zouwu that our hero Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) meets along the way.
Some encounters flat don’t make sense. Even at 134 minutes, it feels like we’re seeing a Reader’s Digest condensed version of a much longer production, and that too much important stuff was left on the cutting-room floor.
There’s also a strong sense of déjà vu, with Rowling “borrowing” from her own work. This is most obvious when Newt and his “Auror” (magical law enforcement) companion, Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston), invade the French Ministry of Magic, with the help of some shape-changing polyjuice potion. One can’t help feeling the echo of Harry, Hermione and Ron similarly sneaking into the British Ministry of Magic, back in the day.
It’s too much been there, done that. And way too much talking and angst. Long-suffering unrequited love. A soul-tortured quest for personal identity. Elliptical, deliberately vague conversations where characters refuse to be candid with each other. Dangling clues that don’t amount to much, when answers are revealed.
Frankly, this film is a dull, boring slog. It’s not fun.
Nor is Johnny Depp’s Grindelwald anywhere near a match for Harry Potter’s Lord Voldemort. The latter was — remains — a scary force of true malevolence, and was played as such in those movies.
Depp’s Grindelwald, in great contrast, seems more constipated than sinister; his “dire” pronouncements are intoned with a slow, emotionless flatness that feels more like sleepwalking. Were it not for his weird eyes and spiky hairstyle, he wouldn’t even look fearsome. One cannot imagine him rallying hundreds of “pure-born” wizards to his world-conquering cause, as occurs during this film’s climax.
Which, be warned, is little more than a blatant set-up for the next movie.
So, briefly then (if such is possible):
During a prologue that delivers far more excitement and suspense than the entire rest of the film, Grindelwald cleverly escapes from the New York headquarters of the Magical Congress of the United States of America. He links up with half a dozen acolytes, establishes a base in an opulent Parisian home — after killing its NoMaj (human) occupants — and sets about trying to find Credence (Ezra Miller), revealed in the first film to be a dangerously powerful Obscurus.
Grindelwald knows the truth about Credence’s birthright, and also suspects that he can be seduced to the cause of evil, pure-blood wizards.
Credence, meanwhile, has been hiding with best friend Nagini (Claudia Kim) in the fabulously enchanted Circus Arcanus. She’s a Maledictus, inflicted with a blood curse that causes her to transform into an enormous snake. She’s one of several magical underbeings who, with nowhere else to go, are exploited cruelly by the circus ringmaster. (Shades of The Elephant Man!)
Newt, meanwhile, has been summoned by the heads of the British Ministry of Magic, all of whom are vexed by the mayhem he stirred up in New York (in the previous film). Despite this, they offer a deal: They’ll not ban him from international travel, if he agrees to join his Auror brother, Theseus (Callum Turner), in a hunt to find — and kill — Credence.
Newt — as always, unwilling to run counter to his own, often idiosyncratic instincts — refuses. And is confined to London.
Redmayne’s gentle, misfit performance as Newt is this film’s strongest asset (as also was the case last time). He’s bashful to the point of a near-stutter, helplessly obsessed with being kind to the magical creatures — large and small — that have become his life’s work, and hopeless when it comes to articulating his fondness for Tina. Redmayne makes him cuddly, endearing and steadfastly honorable: a reluctant “good guy” whose occasional heroic acts are all the more significant, for his decision to embrace them.
Meanwhile…
The “memory removal” spell cast — last film — on Newt’s NoMaj friend, Jacob (Dan Fogler), seems not to have taken; he remains deeply in love with the magical Queenie (Alison Sudol), Tina’s ditsy sister. Jacob and Queenie’s relationship remains furtive, because it violates wizarding laws; it also has prompted a rift between Queenie and Tina, since the latter enforces such laws.
Redmayne and Fogler are amusing together — both physically and verbally — in the manner of a classic comedy duo. Newt is book-smart; Jacob is street-smart. Jacob knows people; Newt is more comfortable with his creatures. This disparity works best when Jacob tries to “teach” Newt how best to acknowledge his affection for Tina; it’s a well-worn movie bit, but Redmayne and Fogler make it fresh.
Sudol, on the other hand, can’t begin to sell the substantial character shift that Queenie endures, as this saga progresses. No other character better demonstrates the blatantly manipulative sweep of Rowling’s puppeteer control. Sudol simply isn’t up to the challenge.
Meanwhile again…
Having rejected the ministry’s “request” that he hunt down Credence, Newt is astonished when Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) summons him with precisely the same appeal. Actually, it’s even more dire; Dumbledore knows that Grindelwald also is after Credence, and hopes that Newt will prevent that meeting.
Newt quite logically points out that Dumbledore is the best person for that assignment, to which the latter replies, “I cannot move against Grindelwald. It has to be you.”
And — maddeningly — refuses to explain why.
Dumbledore’s enigmatic nature notwithstanding, he’s well played by Law, who gives this iconic character just the right blend of charm, quiet power, and a chess player’s shrewd intuition. Law is a far better emblem of authoritative good, than Depp is of evil.
It’s also delightful to spend some time with Dumbledore at school, during a flashback signaled by soundtrack composer James Newton Howard’s nod to John Williams’ “Hogwarts Theme.” This sequence supplies a bit of back-story for Leta Lestrange (Zoë Kravitz), who struggles over whether to succumb to her baser instincts. Which makes her engagement to Theseus a bit … awkward.
(Potterverse stalwarts will quickly recognize that name, thanks to Helena Bonham Carter’s memorable performance as the viciously evil Bellatrix Lestrange.)
All of which covers the big stuff. Happily, we also spend some quality time with Newt’s most faithful creature companions: the sparkle-obsessed Niffler, looking much like a cute duck-billed platypus; and the tiny, sprig-like Bowtruckle named Pickett, who can be very handy with locks. They’re joined by much larger newcomers, such as a Scottish Kelpie, a French Matagot and the aforementioned feline Zouwu. We even get a brief glimpse of the skeletal winged Thestrals, which are familiar from Harry Potter’s adventures.
Many of them reside — if such is the word — in cages and sometimes massive environmentally friendly habitats, all “contained” within Newt’s deceptively ordinary suitcase.
No complaint can be made against the film’s opulent special effects — courtesy of Tim Burke and Christian Manz — which continue the two series’ tradition of awe-inspiring displays of magical mayhem.
But such visual legerdemain, and the solid performances from Redmayne and Law, cannot compensate for a storytelling experience that remains maladroit and emotionally barren. This film simply doesn’t engage … and, needless to say, that never was a problem during Harry Potter’s adventures.
This series needs fresh blood. Yates has been sole director since 2007’s Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and Rowling appears to have lost perspective. If they’re not careful, they’ll sabotage years of considerable good will.
That would be a shame.
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