‘Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them’ transports you into the magical world of Harry Potter, leaves your mouth agape of wonder and makes your eyes tear up. This film is, for me, one of the best fantasy films out there and I am not just saying that because I am a potterhead; I genuinely think it’s an amazing film for various reasons that I will state in a bit.
First of all, background information about the film: It was directed by David Yates and written by J. K. Rowling. The movie follows the adventures of the magizoologist and author of the iconic book ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them, in New York city [the book was used by the students of Hogwarts, including Harry Potter, seventeen years after the events described in the film].
Now let’s move on to the actual review starting with the plot: I really loved the fact that they decided to make Newt Scamander’s history as a movie and decided to involve Grindelwald as well, a historic fictional character from the Harry Potter movies. I also must admit that the story and the characters were well-developed.
On top of that, each characters are special and have a distinctive personality; J. K. Rowling built them in a way that makes you fall in love with them. Jacob Kowalski is definitely my favorite character, after Newt, because he gives a comedic side to the film.
Moving on to the performances of the lead actors/actresses, I thought the acting was breathtaking, especially the one of Dan Fogler [Jacob] and Alison Sudol [Queenie]: their characters are quite sophisticated and extravagant but the actor and actress played them in a very genuine way.
Of course, Eddie Redmayne’s performance is on point as well and I thought he is perfect for the role of Newt. As a matter of fact, the choice of cast is just right.
The film contains a lot of excitement and movement [action and camera movement, which suited very much with the theme of the film], so you won’t get bored whatsoever. Moreover, visually, the movie is astonishing and magical and the color palette is beautiful.
Lastly, the soundtrack is just fabulous, it matches perfectly with the characters themselves and the actions; it complements very well the mood of the film.
In conclusion, I believe the prequel of the Harry Potter films is a pure success.
+I am very pleased that it’s J. K. Rowling who wrote the script and is still writing the future ones because she knows better than anyone the world and the characters she created therefore she won’t ruin them. I also believe that the world she created has so much potential and leaves many possibilities to create different stories.
