I thought that this movie was amazing. First of all, I love the Harry Potter series and J.K Rowling. I enjoyed the movies, but I thought that this movie was either just as good or better than the movies. There are so many things that were great about the movie, this is going to be a very one-sided review.
The animation was absolutely beautiful and the storyline was well done too. The character development was really well done. I absolutely adore Eddie Redmayne as an actor and I think he did such a good job playing Newt, the lovable but cringingly awkward wizard. Also, the dynamic of the relationships was so cute. I loved Queenie’s character and how she seemed like a ditzy character, yet she was the one who saved Newt’s suitcase with all the mythological creatures. The writing and the acting did such an amazing job at creating characters that were likeable, yet they each had their own flaws too, which made them more believable. I thought that it was a good choice to have the “no-maj” so involved in the events, which is something unique about the movie since in the Harry Potter books there wasn’t anyone involved in the wizarding world who wasn’t born a wizard or didn’t have magic.
As I love animals anyway, it was so fun to see all the magical creatures in Newt’s suitcase. You can tell there was so much creativity put into those scenes, I can’t even begin to explain how awestruck I was watching it for the first time and I can’t imagine how long it took to produce. Also, I loved the chemistry between the characters. It was so adorable to watch the ending scene with Newt and Porpentina saying goodbye but awkwardly promising to see each other again, and I loved watching Queenie and Jacob Kowalski be so infatuated with each other’s lives. I’m glad that they saw each other again at the end of the movie and it was so sweet that Newt gave Kowalski the silver so that he could open his own bakery. Also, one of the best parts about this movie is that you know at the end that there will be another movie coming out that continues the story.
Something that I was confused about was I never quite grasped what an Obscurus was, and how it could exist outside of a person and how the one in Newt’s suitcase did not try to take over him. Also, the ending was pretty confusing how Graves turned into Gellert Grindelwald. The situation wasn’t confusing, but Grindelwald's whole character was because I felt like they didn’t do a great job explaining who he was. I would’ve liked a bit more of an introduction to Newt’s character as well and what his background in England was. I’m also still debating whether I like American terminology (but of course the original British ones are the best by far). And, I would have liked it if there was more overlap between the magical beasts in this movie and some of the creatures in the Harry Potter books (like hippogryphs!).
I have to admit I haven’t actually read the book, which is basically a sin but I think that since it isn’t a part of the original HP series it doesn’t count as much. With all that said, I definitely recommend watching this movie even if you know nothing about Harry Potter because I think that it is good just by itself (although having background information was pretty useful in catching some of the confusing parts about why Newt was in trouble).
The animation was absolutely beautiful and the storyline was well done too. The character development was really well done. I absolutely adore Eddie Redmayne as an actor and I think he did such a good job playing Newt, the lovable but cringingly awkward wizard. Also, the dynamic of the relationships was so cute. I loved Queenie’s character and how she seemed like a ditzy character, yet she was the one who saved Newt’s suitcase with all the mythological creatures. The writing and the acting did such an amazing job at creating characters that were likeable, yet they each had their own flaws too, which made them more believable. I thought that it was a good choice to have the “no-maj” so involved in the events, which is something unique about the movie since in the Harry Potter books there wasn’t anyone involved in the wizarding world who wasn’t born a wizard or didn’t have magic.
As I love animals anyway, it was so fun to see all the magical creatures in Newt’s suitcase. You can tell there was so much creativity put into those scenes, I can’t even begin to explain how awestruck I was watching it for the first time and I can’t imagine how long it took to produce. Also, I loved the chemistry between the characters. It was so adorable to watch the ending scene with Newt and Porpentina saying goodbye but awkwardly promising to see each other again, and I loved watching Queenie and Jacob Kowalski be so infatuated with each other’s lives. I’m glad that they saw each other again at the end of the movie and it was so sweet that Newt gave Kowalski the silver so that he could open his own bakery. Also, one of the best parts about this movie is that you know at the end that there will be another movie coming out that continues the story.
Something that I was confused about was I never quite grasped what an Obscurus was, and how it could exist outside of a person and how the one in Newt’s suitcase did not try to take over him. Also, the ending was pretty confusing how Graves turned into Gellert Grindelwald. The situation wasn’t confusing, but Grindelwald's whole character was because I felt like they didn’t do a great job explaining who he was. I would’ve liked a bit more of an introduction to Newt’s character as well and what his background in England was. I’m also still debating whether I like American terminology (but of course the original British ones are the best by far). And, I would have liked it if there was more overlap between the magical beasts in this movie and some of the creatures in the Harry Potter books (like hippogryphs!).
I have to admit I haven’t actually read the book, which is basically a sin but I think that since it isn’t a part of the original HP series it doesn’t count as much. With all that said, I definitely recommend watching this movie even if you know nothing about Harry Potter because I think that it is good just by itself (although having background information was pretty useful in catching some of the confusing parts about why Newt was in trouble).