Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Release Date:Nov 18, 2016
Runtime:2 hr. 13 min.
Director:David Yates
Cast:Eddie Redmayne, Dan Fogler, Katherine Waterston, Ezra Miller, Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton.

It's been 5 years since the conclusion of a beloved franchise, and 5 years since the loss of magical storytelling. But lo and behold, J.K. Rowling proves she still has something up her sleeve, igniting a series bred for a new generation. Preluding the birth of "Harry Potter," we embark on an unforeseen journey with remarkable creatures – "Fantastic Beasts" to be exact. Set in 1926 in New York City, we follow Newt Scamander, a zoologist on a mission to rescue these mythical beasts. Potterheads should be familiar with Newt thanks to the resourcefulness of Rowling, who not only wrote the screenplay but also the 'textbook' that inspired it. It's in this regard that "Beasts" conjures a pleasant familiarity, one only attainable with the help of the author. Eddie Redmayne takes the limelight of the autonomous hero, while Colin Farrell is implied as the underlying villain. Dan Fogler provides the comic relief as the inadvertent sidekick, whose role as No-Maj (muggle) is fortuitous in context. It's a change from trailing students at Hogwarts, moreover, relocating to America to discover a cultural diversity. But while incantations and levitations remain the same, that is where the similarities end. The plot, as a whole, is less thrilling than accustomed, and it's hard not to miss old familiar faces. Newt, while likable and honest in nature, is hard to picture in the long run as a strong protagonist. But hints of a character that's been long forgotten tells us there's more percolating beneath the surface. As protracted secrecy is J.K. Rowling's forte, it'll be interesting to see how this franchise unravels over the course of 5 films. Though "Beasts" is no match for the likes of "Harry Potter," it appears to at least have some budding potential. 

Rating: 3½ stars