Is Fantastic Beasts 3 worth the wait (and your money)? Here are our honest thoughts. Warning: Spoilers ahead...
I’m a huge Potterhead. I’ve read every Harry Potter book (thanks dad), watched all the films a dozen times each, and gone to both Wizarding World theme parks in Orlando and Japan. I even have Luna Lovegood’s wand. Call me a nerd, whatever, I’m invested in this franchise. So when the opportunity came knocking to watch the preview of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, I rose to the occasion.
Here’s the trailer in case you missed it.
The last Fantastic Beasts movie came out in 2018 (waaay before Covid-19, can you believe it?) and received tons of mixed reviews. It… well, it wasn’t the best. So here’s the big question on everyone’s minds: is the new movie (out in cinemas today, 14 April) even worth the time and money? Let’s find out.
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore review
First, a quick recap of Fantastic Beasts 3
If you just want an idea of what to expect, here’s the gist of the plot. Following the events of the second movie, the third film in the Fantastic Beasts franchise focuses on Grindelwald and his plans to rule the wizarding world and overthrow the muggle realm. He’s made it so that he’s no longer a fugitive. He’s even a candidate for the upcoming elections of the Head of the International Confederation of Wizards. And he doesn’t intend to play a fair game.
As Dumbledore is unable to move against him due to an unbreakable blood vow (made when they were young and in love), he amasses a team of unlikely heroes to help. This, of course, includes our beloved Magizoologist, Newt Scamander, his brother Theseus, his assistant Bunty, endearing muggle Jacob Kowalski, Yusuf Kama (estranged brother of Leta Lestrange), and Ilvermony professor Lally Hicks.
The elephant in the room
The first thing we need to address is the fact that there’s a completely new Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts 3. Replacing Johnny Depp is Mads Mikkelsen, an actor famously known for his role as Hannibal Lecter, a cannibalistic serial killer in the 2013 TV series. I’m never a fan of change, but I’d say Mikkelsen stepped into the role and filled the shoes of Grindelwald perfectly.
I absolutely love Depp, but his portrayal of Grindelwald was always a bit too fantastical both in appearance and mannerisms for my liking. I appreciate that Mikkelsen brought a more realistic, almost sinister version of Grindelwald to the table. He’s charming, menacing and manipulative – the sort you can imagine as a villainous, deceitful politician of today.
It’s definitely a change that was necessary, and very much welcomed for the rest of the Fantastic Beasts films.
Okay now, stop here, and I repeat, stop HERE if you don’t want any spoilers. (Greatest apologies to my Editor who unfortunately has to keep on reading.)
The secrets of Dumbledore
Of course, you can’t title a film “The Secrets of Dumbledore” without delving into Dumbledore’s own backstory. If you’ve only watched the films and never read the books, you might’ve been confused in Deathly Hallows. The circumstances of Aberforth and Ariana Dumbledore, as well as Dumbledore’s relationship with Grindelwald, were never fully explained.
There’s a lot more in Fantastic Beasts 3. Exactly how Ariana died, how it led to the strained relationship between the Dumbledore brothers, and how Dumbledore himself was actually (like, actually) in love with Grindelwald. It’s always been alluded to, but this time he says it out loud. A moment Grindeldore stans around the world have been anticipating for ages!
Lots of callbacks to the Harry Potter films
Something I enjoyed quite a bit were the subtle (or not so subtle) callbacks to the original Harry Potter books and films. If you’re a die-hard fan of the story, you’ll understand.
The first I noticed was when the heroes were gathered in the passenger car of the train to talk about their strategy against Grindelwald. They’re each given a “gift” from Dumbledore to help them along their journey. For example, Jacob gets his own wand (though it doesn’t have a core, so it’s not exactly real), and Bunty gets a mysterious note that’s only meant for her eyes to see (it burns up into ashes once she’s read it). This is oh so similar to when Harry, Ron and Hermione received their gifts from Dumbledore (bequeathed from his will) before they set off to find and destroy all of Voldemort’s horcruxes. And of course, all these gifts come in handy at just the right time.
There’s also the case of the two-way mirror. You might recall the shard of glass that Harry used to communicate with Sirius, and how Aberforth used this to send Dobby to help the trio in their adventure. The mirror makes an appearance in this Fantastic Beasts movie, and draws an unlikely connection between Aberforth and… Credence? Or should I say Aurelius Dumbledore.
Missed opportunities and unanswered questions
You might find yourself disappointed by the lack of focus on the various characters, especially those you loved in the previous films. At the end of the second Fantastic Beasts movie, there was interest in Aurelius Dumbledore’s origin and the internal conflict both he and Queenie Goldstein would face in choosing to follow Grindelwald. This is touched on so briefly in Fantastic Beasts 3 that you hardly have time to feel for them. Instead, the movie focuses on thwarting Grindelwald’s plan for the elections, overshadowing the growth of these characters.
Also, where’s Nagini and why does Tina Goldstein only appear at the end of the film? What happened between her and Newt? And how did the blood vow break at the end of it all, freeing Dumbledore and Grindelwald from its grip? Sure, vague answers were given, but they were all so up in the air that you can’t help but feel completely unsatisfied with their conclusions.
If you’ve always been a huge fan of all things Harry Potter, I’d say Fantastic Beasts 3 gives you another opportunity to feel part of this magical, ever-growing wizarding world. But the franchise does have a lot more to do to fill the existing gaps in its storyline and live up to the name of the original films. It’s probably a 6/10 in my book.
P.S. if anyone can explain why Credence/Aurelius Dumbledore holds his wand in that odd (really unnecessary) way, please let me know (seriously, drop us a DM on Instagram).