The best and worst attributes of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them are one and the same: its ambition. The concept is a fun one—exploring J.K. Rowling’s world of wizardry and witchcraft at a different time and a location outside of Hogwarts with brand new characters—that opens up the door to endless possibilities. Magic is an accepted fact in this universe with a rich, well-documented history, and the idea that different countries would have their own approaches to legislation, vocabulary and social acceptance is exciting.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
PG-13, 130 minutes
Regal Stonefield and IMAX, Violet Crown Cinema
Fantastic Beasts is itself excited by the potential—so much so that it can’t decide what it should actually be about. As if it were hedging its bets on whether sequels would be made, Fantastic Beasts feels like five movies all happening at the same time, three of which are good. It certainly can be charming, but the lack of focus leaves the viewer wholly invested in one storyline while completely forgetting about a particular side plot until it returns and becomes the main storyline for far too long. Director David Yates tries to build an epic out of unrelated storylines, eager to advertise that Fantastic Beasts is more than a spin-off series. And it often works due to a great cast, Rowling’s intelligence and sensitivity, and the overall charm of the Potter-verse. It’s just too much all at once, the opposite of the Harry Potter series’ slow reveal of its many secrets.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them marks Rowling’s first foray into screenwriting, partially adapting her own compendium of the same name into a fully realized narrative. The story takes place in 1920s New York, where Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) arrives from England with a case full of magical creatures. Meanwhile, Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler), a No-Maj (American dialect for Muggle) and a veteran of World War I, confuses his bag for Scamander’s on the street, resulting in the release of the titular beasts, which Scamander has been collecting for his book and has illegally smuggled. He is arrested by Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston), a former investigator with the Magical Congress of the United States of America who is caught up in intrigue of her own. Meanwhile, sinister forces threaten the balance between the world of men and magic, with a puzzling connection to the so-called Second Salemers, an anti-magic organization.
Lots of plot, as you can see, and your enjoyment of the film will depend on your willingness to bounce between them and wait it out during the ones you don’t like. When you are invested, it’s great fun, and we can hope that future installments are in less of a hurry because there are many worthwhile moments here. That it feels the need to do so much in a single film is possibly the fault of the movie industry rather than the filmmakers, who seem to feel pressured to tell every story they can in case there is no sequel. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a fun, pretty distraction that is worth supporting so later entries can deliver on its potential.
Playing this week
Regal Stonefield 14 and IMAX
The Shops at Stonefield, 244-3213
Bad Santa 2, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, Moana, Nocturnal Animals
Violet Crown Cinema
200 W. Main St., Downtown Mall, 529-3000
Allied, The Handmaiden, Loving, Moana, Red, Rules Don’t Apply, White
