Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, the third installment in the Fantastic Beasts film series, has been bogged down by controversy and the failures of its predecessor. It’s been nearly five years since the last installment, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald—which, besides being the lowest-grossing Wizarding World film to date, was panned by critics for its complicated and confusing plot. In the years since its release, the cast and creative team have faced a myriad of scandals, including J.K. Rowling’s hateful remarks concerning the transgender community. The biggest controversy, Johnny Depp’s legal battles with ex-wife Amber Heard, forced the actor to bow out of the film completely. Most recently, star Ezra Miller was arrested for disorderly conduct and harassment at a bar in Hawaii.
Despite these setbacks, the film has finally reached audiences. Director David Yates, who was behind the last four Harry Potter movies, as well as the two preceding Fantastic Beasts films, returns with a screenplay written by Rowling and Harry Potter screenwriter Steve Kloves. Picking up where the last film left off, accomplished wizard Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) has assembled a team to defeat dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (now portrayed by Mads Mikkelsen). This team consists of magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), No-maj Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler), Newt’s brother Theseus (Callum Turner), American Charms professor Eulalie Hicks (Jessica Williams), French wizard Yusuf Kama (William Nadylam) and Newt’s faithful assistant Bunty (Victoria Yeates). Alison Sudol and Ezra Miller also return as Queenie Goldstein and Credence Barebone/Aurelius Dumbledore, respectively.
Like the Wizarding World films before it, The Secrets of Dumbledore is first and foremost an epic spectacle teeming with movie magic. Despite the “Fantastic Beasts” portion of the title getting smaller with each installment, the beasts themselves continue to be the stars of this CGI spectacle. Familiar fan favorites return such as the twig-like bowtruckle and the platypus-like, gold loving Niffler. There is also the addition of new fantastical creatures to the Wizarding World such as the Qilin, a creature borrowed from Chinese mythology, who is of utmost importance to the overall plot.
The fan-favorite characters imbue the story with heart, almost making up for the mediocre and perplexing plot. The classic forbidden love story between non-magical Jacob and accomplished witch Queenie has additional stakes after Queenie’s turn to the dark side at the end of the last movie. Introverted Newt is thrust into leadership after being trusted by Dumbledore. And Dumbledore himself has to face his traumatic past in order to defeat the man he used to love.
Even though the characters in this film are well-developed and well-acted, with Mads Mikkelsen delivering a superior Grindelwald performance than that of his precursor Johnny Depp, not even that could save this film from its outlandish storyline. Like many modern fantasy movies, Secrets of Dumbledore attempts to integrate current political issues into its fictional world. But it’s hard to take the lessons of corrupt politicians and rigged elections seriously when the position the candidates are vying for is “Supreme Mugwump.” Also, in a desperate attempt to transport its audience back to the magical world, many of the key elements, such as the aforementioned election, are not adequately explained.
All in all, Secrets of Dumbledore falls victim to the main pitfall of prequels. Viewers know how the story ends, so why does it matter how they got there? When the Fantastic Beasts movies were about expanding the Wizarding World to include North America, maybe they made sense. But, much like the talent involved, they have over time devolved into a complicated political mess that leaves a viewer confused and disappointed. With the future of these movies up in the air after poor audience and critical reception, as well as declining box office expectations, maybe it’s for the best that this planned five film series ends with three. The film ends with a sense of finality, potentially putting the final nail in the coffin of Newt and friends’ future on the big screen.
2.5/5 STARS