Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022) Review
Main Character
Eddie Redmayne has been the showpiece of the Fantastic Beasts franchise as Newt Scamander and he is good in the film. He is just a pretty likeable character and he is very charming in the role. He shares more of the screen time this time around and it means we maybe don't get as much development with his character but I still think Redmayne does enough in the role. Jude Law's role as Dumbledore is more expanded in this film and I thought he was really good here, he was charming and charismatic. There was depth added to his character and it does feel like eventually he would become the character that we would see in the Harry Potter franchise.
Supporting Characters
Dan Fogler as Jacob for me has been the best part of the Fantastic Beasts films and he is another great standout here. He is the comic relief and he is just fantastic at it, he is so funny and charming but this film adds some character there and develops him well. After the controversy involving Johnny Depp, Grindewald was recast as Mads Mikkelsen and he does a good job. He is more controlled then the previous iteration and feels less over the top which I personally preferred out of the villain. Jessica Williams makes her debut as Lally and I thought she was a really fun addition to the group, she is just entertaining to watch and has good chemistry with the rest of the cast but especially with Fogler. The rest of the cast didn't quite work for me, Ezra Miller is back as Credence and if you take the off screen issues out of it, I feel like he was underutilised. It felt like he was going to be a huge part of this film but he ends up being a side plot and Miller's stoic and dull performance does nothing to help. Another character wasted was Queenie, she was a big part of the previous films but it feels like she only does a little here and her character could have been more in the forefront especially where she was left in the previous film. There are some other characters here such as Newt's brother that doesn't add to much to the film and I feel like there was probably a few too many characters here.
Story
The story is okay, it is fun seeing the group of wizards and Jacob going after Grindewald and seeing the interesting things they have to do mixed with the fun personalities on screen. But the issue is in the overall grand plan of the film. like the Credence/Dumbledore plot line doesn't get enough depth or screen time and Grindewald's grand plan doesn't quite work for me with an ending that doesn't quite feel earnt enough to me.
Script
The writing is actually one of the highlights of the film. This film does a good job in both the humour and drama. Fogler in particular is hilarious but other characters also have their moments of being funny. The drama was good enough too, it continues the relationships and dynamics from the previous films and does enough to make it interesting and feel like a continuation.
Style
The film looks pretty good, the action scenes are exciting and shows how wizard powers manage to work. It is a pretty fast paced film which for me made it a more enjoyable film. But I felt like the film had a tone issue, despite having some good writing it confuses when to use humour and drama which made it feel strange to me on whether I was meant to care emotionally or laugh. Also some of the background CGI isn't very good and occasional action scenes were filmed poorly despite the excitement.
Overall
Overall, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is a good film that is probably the best of the franchise. It still has issues that hold it back but overall I had a fun time with it.
Rating - 7/10
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