Because the DC Films are in struggle-town and that $2.3 billion juggernaut called Harry Potter hasn’t been in cinemas for five years, it was only a matter of time before Warner Brothers turned back to the world of Wizards, Muggles and Fantastical Creatures. But with all the books having been milked for every last penny they could, where do you go with the series? You adapt the book within the book. Yep it’s Bookception or as J.K. Rowling and David Yates would prefer you call it, Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them.
Set in 1920’s New York, we find Newt Scamander arriving by boat with a suit case that makes the Tardis feel claustrophobic. After a brief encounter with a No-Maj, the New York term for Muggles, named Jacob Kowalski, some of the creatures in his fantastic suitcase are released and the world of wizards is threatened to be exposed. In between all this we have Wizard police, a Madame President, something going on with a newspaper owner and his aspiring sons, an abusive woman hell-bent on a witch hunt and Ezra Miller doing his best creepy Crispin Glover from Charlie’s Angels impression -the only thing it’s missing is him pulling out Drew Barrymore’s hair and sniffing it while he jerks off. There’s a lot going on and not a lot of pay off - most likely because we need to stretch this new franchise out for another five films, but how does it compare to the original Harry Potter series?
The honest truth is, I can’t answer that. I have no frame of reference because I’m one of the seven people on this planet that has never watched a Harry Potter film and never read the books. I don’t have anything against Harry Potter, I was just watching other films and reading other books whilst J.K.Rowling dominated the world of film and literature. I know when my son is old enough to watch them we’ll get to enjoy them for the first time together - but for now all I can reference is the film in front of me.
Look, the special effects are great, 90% of the time, the creature designs are imaginative, creative and sometimes scary and 1920’s New York is beautifully recreated. The music is magical, each sequence is well choreographed and expertly shot and edited - you can’t fault the mechanics behind the look and feel of the film. Plus, it manages to maintain a Chaplin-esque feel amongst all of the blockbuster special effects.
Dan Fogler’s Jacob Kowalski is a real highlight to the film and you can be forgiven for forgetting that this is the guy that gave us Balls Of Fury. From his accent, the way he interacts with other characters to just his sheer mannerisms, he’s easily my favourite character. A lot of the supporting cast throughout are good, however many of them are relegated to just standing and staring intently - I mean quite literally if there isn’t a promotional poster for a character don’t expect them to utter a word.
We have Colin Farrell and Ezra Miller in supporting roles that although they are both good in, don’t really feel like they truely fit with the rest of the film. Once again, Ezra Miller is fine in the creepiest way possible, he’s a solid actor however I still need more convincing that he can play the leading man in a superhero film, looking at you Flash. We have some good turns from Katherine Waterston and Samantha Morton along with Alison Sudol who is maybe a little too sexy for her role if I’m being honest.
Then we have the lead, Eddie Redmayne. Yeah, look, your enjoyment of the film will be solely dependant of your tolerance for Eddie Redmayne, who gives a very Eddie Redmayne performance. He’s interesting with his aloof mannerisms to say the least, he looks like someone spray-painted skin onto him to put it mildly and he acts like a freaking serial killer throughout most of the film if asked for extremes. For me, he’s just one step short of dragging a woman by the hair into a dark alleyway whilst holding a sonic-screwdriver and doing his best/worst Tom Baker impression.
Overall the film has some good exciting moments and kind of makes you yearn to be a kid again. It’s easily twenty minutes too long and with the news that Johnny Depp will be playing the villain in subsequent sequels, because nothing screams success like the biggest box office drawcard of 2006, we can only hope that this new series moves from strength to strength.
Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them gets Three out of Five Stars (or Three out of Five prayers that Johnny Depp doesn’t Johnny Depp the villain role in the sequels)
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