Date Released: 2016
Director: David Yates
Actors/ Characters: Eddie Redmayne/ Newt, Colin Farrell/ Graves, Katherine Waterston/ Trina, Samantha Morton/ Mary Lou, Dan Fogler/ Jacob Kowalski, Ezra Miller/ Credence, Alison Sudol/ Queenie
Summary: The adventures of writer Newt Scamander in New York's secret community of witches and wizards seventy years before Harry Potter reads his book in school.
Review
I went into the cinema with no expectations about this film, I didn't want to be disappointed or have my love of the Harry Potter series tainted in any way, shape or form. For me Fantastic Beasts was kinda like the Star Wars remakes and I was apprehensive to even watch this new addition to Rowling's incredible universe. If you are feeling the same thoughts I did please just watch this film. I left the cinema an emotional heap and I am desperate to go back and watch it again. I think the film was so true to Harry Potter because the script was solely written by J K Rowling and the heart of the film was loyal to what we all know and love thus far. I will admit I am still perplexed slightly as to how they are going to produce five of the Fantastic Beasts films, maybe two more I can foresee quite easily but four? I don't know how it's going to turn out...
I'll start by talking about the music. When the Warner Bros logo appeared at the beginning of the film goosebumps went right through me. The music score was so perfect, they perfectly merged the essence of the old pieces with new ones for Fantastic Beasts.
What made the film suck me in straight away was the characters and the cast. Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander was just the perfect cast. I loved Newt so much! He was sweet, kind and adorable. Also he is a hufflepuff which makes me so happy to finally have a strong hufflepuff character represented in one of Rowling's films. Redmayne was so amazing in the role I loved how caring he was with the creatures and the friendships he made on his trip to New York. Also can we talk about the mating dance he did in the central park zoo? That was by far the funniest scene in the film!
Jacob was another one of my favourite characters all his scenes were excellent and Fogler again was brilliant in the role. I loved how Rowling included a muggle as one of the main protagonists as it made a pleasant change from the usual discriminating attitudes towards 📷non magic people that appear in the Harry Potter series. I really appreciated that Jacob was taking part in this adventure just as much as the wizards and he helped them out consistently throughout the film. Obviously Jacob did provide a comedic character in most scenes however I was impressed by Fogler's ability to merge comedy with emotion and serious acting. Some of the most emotional scenes for me were centered around Jacob for example the obliviating rain that erased his memories of the wizarding world brought tears to my eyes.
Queenie was such a lovely character to watch. I loved how she was such a sweetie pie but had the ability to manipulate people and be a total badass! I loved her and Jacob as a couple because it was really unconventional and made a pleasant change from the norm.
The only protagonist I didn't seem to be attached to was Tina. I don't know why but I found her character really unengaging and sort of boring to watch. I feel as if she was just a filler character that was only present to drive the plot forward and she served that purpose but emotionally I just wasn't invested in her story much at all.
The film's aesthetic was so incredible. Having it set in 1920s New York was a great design choice because it provided amazing visuals throughout and added a real richness to the film. The costumes were also breathtaking, Harry Potter costumes were always outstanding but having wizarding clothing from the 1920s again made it much more visually appealing.
Going into the film I expected a similar vibe to Harry Potter: it to be childish and full of adventure. Obviously some parts of the film achieved this feel because of its nature as a family film. However I was surprised by the dark undertow of the film, Fantastic Beasts was much darker than I first expected something especially evident during the Salem scenes. I think having the film set around the rise of Grindlewald was an excellent idea because it added a foreboding mood and inevitability to the film and the series to come. I think the maturity of the film was also partly created by having the main characters as fully matured wizards capable of performing advanced magic and spells. During Harry Potter we follow main characters learning the magical trade and discovering the wizarding world along with the audience which was always part of the charm and the childlike magic of the films. With Fantastic Beasts are characters are adults and so a far more political and maturer impression was clear within the film.
Most of the childish nature of the film stemmed from the magical creatures being loose in New York. I loved this element of the story it added so much fun and humour to the film but also allowed for some emotional and heart touching moments. The scenes with the niffler were so funny I loved that character so much. One of my favourite sequences of the entire film was definitely Newt's case scene where he took Jacob inside the case. The way he cared for the animals was so sweet and that was when I really fell in love with his character. The firebird's role in the story brought a tear to my eye I have to admit I found it so awful that he was separated from his family.
The ending of the film was so emotional but I loved how open ended it was. I am excited to watch the next instalment to the series and I hope it's as good as this first film was.
Comments