Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them.
Much to my surprise, I loved this film. Action packed, humorous, fresh, and original. Yes, there is considerable darkness, but unlike the last few Harry Potter films, it does not overwhelm the film and rob it of its entertainment value.
The vast majority of lead actors are also much better from day 1 than with Harry Potter. By which I mean no inexperienced child actors. The adult actors have been uniformly excellent throughout.
Just to note I "liked" the Harry Potter films, particularly Azkaban and Deathly Hallows Part 2, and thought Goblet Of Fire was a terrific film and the best of the franchise.
This film for me was up there with Goblet Of Fire.
I know a few Harry Potter fans who hated this film, so to be clear this is NOT Harry Potter The Even Earlier Years... it is its own thing, but with intriguing links and hints to things that may happen in future instalments, some of which were talked about in hushed tones in the Harry Potter films.
As with many Jk Rowling films, the Fantastic Beasts are not really the main event... more a smoke screen for a smoke screen... but they are beautifully realised and some of the captures are very entertaining.
The only VERY slight minus for me is Eddie Redmayne. It's probably just personal preference but I can't help thinking how much more panache and charisma other contender for the role Matt Smith would have brought. It's not that Ed is bad at all and he does develop the character well by the end of the film. Just could have done with a bit more welly.
But overall extremely entertaining and I'm looking forward to seeing the next part more than I ever thought I would.
4.5/5
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