Michał: Slowly approaching the end of our discussion, I would like to mention a side topic. Let’s not forget that in addition to films about Harry himself, there were also Fantastic Beasts films about the adventures of young Newt Scamander, intended to extend the so-called Wizarding World . The series caused considerable controversy, and certainly lively reactions from fans. Did you also react equally emotionally after watching these movies?
At the beginning, I was very positively surprised. The very concept, i.e. the expansion of this Wizarding World through films for which Rowling was to write the script herself, seemed very interesting to me. And indeed – the first part of the new series, ie Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, turned out to be something completely new, and, importantly, of good quality, even if somewhat devoid of the atmosphere of the original Harry movies. The intriguing heroes (led by Jacob Kowalski, a Muggle who, however, plays a much greater role than the Dursleys in the Harry series), the germ of a new story and, above all, making the well-known Grindelwald the main antagonist of the series made the viewer hot for the next installment which, as could be expected, will deepen a few threads and will be watched with even more bated breath than the first one …
And here something strange happened. Strange, because while the first part was amazingly together, so did the second part, entitled Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwaldturned out to be one big scenario mess. The characters became shallow, and all dilemmas and dilemmas were suddenly outlined, so that the viewer did not care about them at all. Although Rowling has repeatedly proved that she can write complex plots, here she let her imagination run wild and recombined the plot of the Lestranges, so crucial for the whole film. In addition, there were too many themes, which in fact did not fit neatly into the film, but only gave the impression that they were introduced in order to be able to shoot the next parts. About a completely pointless and canon-questioning ending, let alone … The only advantage is the appearance of a young Dumbledore, who is quite compatible with his older version (of course, the actor playing him – Jude Law – also did his job), but unfortunately it is not enough, to save the movie.
I honestly admit that after the screening of The Crimes of Grindelwald, I stopped giving Rowling the respect I had had since reading Harry . This one film made her no longer my authority and made me no longer believe that she can still make meaningful stories. I get the impression that it would be best if she already left Harry’s world alone – the more she tries to expand it, the worse it gets. However, since I do not want to do this, and new movies about fantastic animals are to be made, I am afraid for the future of the universe. One thing is certain – I will not go to the cinema for the third part of Newt Scamander’s adventures, because I just don’t see the point in it.
Krzysztof: For me, Fantastic Beasts turned out to be an average digestible freak. Before the first installment hit theaters, I was wondering why Newt Scamander and his adventures had been chosen out of all the characters and stories as the focal point of the new series. I thought that a prequel from the school days of the Marauders, Lily and Severus would be much more interesting, or maybe something completely crazy, like the medieval adventures of the founders of Hogwarts. Nevertheless, the first Animals made quite a good impression on me, showing us “magical” America and offering a story full of energy and humor with a new, after all nice and dynamic protagonist. The side characters that Michał mentioned also contributed to this.
Only it gets worse. To be honest, the plot of Grindelwald seems to me to be completely redundant and stuck by force, and the story of Scamander does not need all this darkness and another dangerous antagonist. I think it would be enough for me to continue chasing intriguing creatures without getting involved in scandals on a global scale. Unfortunately, I found Grindelwald’s crimes to be a messy patchwork of threads by a person who insisted on making two birds with one stone. You know, some laughter, some pets and Newt Scamander, and some shame, social tension and the evil wizard’s terror. As some people say, it fits like a pig’s saddle.
Eliza: Fantastic animals didn’t charm me at all. From the very beginning of both films, to the very end, I have a feeling of overload, dramatic oversaturation and great exaggeration, especially in Crimes . I have already written that the Harry Potter moviesin my opinion, they did not reflect the magnificence of the books, but they still carried some value in themselves. Here I cannot see her. The script gives the impression that it was written “fast”, on the basis of: “We now have a new idea, how we can still make money on the series. Let’s make explosions, a lot of effects (by the way, very well realized) and darkness, which will eventually be won by the light ”. None of the characters aroused any deeper sympathy in me, maybe only some of the title animals. The characters are unreliable and exaggerated. Watching Fantastic Beasts, I get the impression that very high-budget films have been created that are visually impressive, but have been forgotten to refine their content.
Mateusz: Fantastic Beasts and How to Find Them were for me an interesting extension of the Harry Potter universe . We got to know the amazing world of wizards from America, new heroes, and finally the Muggle, who is not only an extra for the plot, and above all, a whole range of titular creatures (the sniffer or the shy would steal every scene). It all added up to some pretty fun entertainment that brought me back to the world of JK Rowling’s magic again.
I cannot agree with you about the overall weakness of Crimes. It seems to me that the idea of showing a groundbreaking duel for the soul of wizards (also literally) between Dumbledore and Grindewald gave the creators enormous opportunities. It reminds me a bit of the prequels of the aforementioned Star Wars, thanks to which we learn about the key plot threads that influenced the later fate of the heroes, the world of magic or even Voldemort’s rebellion.
I’m not a fanboy of Johnny Depp, but I liked his creation. The actor steals every scene with his participation. Grindelwald attracts crowds, he can be extremely charismatic and charming. He is a type of populist politician who can tempt people with his broad ideology. Dumbledore was also presented quite well, thanks to which we feel the coherence of this character with the hero from HP (this time he uses Newt for his purposes). Unfortunately, Rowling seemed to be able to write interesting intrigues, which puts the whole plot. Newt turns out to be unnecessary for the development of the action, on the screen we observe some washings after the chosen ones to balance the power (here the Dumbeldores), and the movie breaks off at the stupidest possible moment.
