“Gellert Grindelwald: Aurors, join me in this circle, pledge to me your eternal allegiance, or die. Only here shall you know freedom, only here shall you know yourself.”
But should we, as viewers, embark on this journey? Should we even lend an ear on what the mighty Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) proclaims? Is it worth our time to follow this dark silhouette, cautiously study his pale figure and eventually stare into his alluring mismatched eyes? He does seem to have enough patience to guide lost souls, after all. If only a definite answer could simply reveal itself… Aparecium?
At this point, I can officially declare the fact that nowadays most movies carry on a typical pattern. The malevolent character obligatorily needs to disclose its doubts and weaknesses, and the story must be filled up with as many troubled individuals, in order to create some sense of unity. Presumably we are all familiar with this system, but hasn’t it become quite tedious? If not, then I shall bite my tongue and permit limitless freedom of speech from protagonists, antagonists and sidekicks altogether. Although, come to think of it, not even that is fully attainable anymore. In a real or fictional world, where each person desires to be heard, chaos is imminent. Everybody does the talking and tries to fit within the time limit, so whom should we pay attention to? Suppose we end up baffled, no worries, for we can effortlessly join the chat wagon and shout our own stories out loud. Let’s all speak up and allow our insecurities to be known, maybe we will be fortunate enough to draw in temporary listeners.
That right there is the main reason why Potterheads have reservations about the future of the Fantastic Beasts series and prefer to resort to consistent Harry Potter marathons. There were times when J. K. Rowling and her fans had plenty of patience to create and witness the natural evolution of a set of characters. Now a certain Confundus Charm floats among us, as some have jokingly pointed out. An accurate observation, nevertheless, since it gets increasingly difficult to keep up with currently inexplicable sub-plots, handle apparent holes throughout the storyline and… wait another 2 years for the highly required action. If you still haven’t checked out the film, The Crimes of Grindelwald is indeed a mere stepping stone in this franchise.
As much as I want to keep this review as professionally objective as possible, I can’t stand for our heroes here to be predominantly neglected, so I’m going to stop by at each character and look beyond their mumbled statements. Lumos Maxima!
Queenie Goldstein and Jacob Kowalski
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them featured this Pure-Blood – No-Maj couple as a merry insertion to the sombre New York. But as in the case of any rushed-up relationship, the eccentric Queenie (Alison Sudol)
and the innocuous Jacob (Dan Fogler)
inescapably join the same grim environment, due to their contrary beliefs. The precautious Muggle manages to picture the harsh consequences of their possible marriage (“If we get married and they find out, they’re gonna throw you in jail, sweetheart. I can’t have that.”), while the upset witch stubbornly blurts out the agonizing questions “Why is it wrong to want to marry you? To wanna have a family?” For a split second, you can feel her pain, but afterwards the remark “I just want what everyone else has, that’s all.” makes you wonder if she is truly ready for this sort of life. Love does imply sacrifices, without a doubt, but it also entails mutual understanding from both sides. We should not omit that Queenie made the strained decision to put a charm on Jacob and make the whole engagement process much easier. It doesn’t come off as a shock when the two call one another coward and crazy, and take a necessary break. However, it does hurt to notice them distressed and thinking about each other with profound regrets.
Leta Lestrange
Zoe Kravitz portrays an overwrought Lestrange who originates from a gloom-ridden family history and is continuously haunted by a childhood trauma, a selfish fatal choice made aboard a sinking ship.
The common viewer is surely captivated by her soft elegance, but there are still roaming questions which she carefully shields from. Additionally, flashbacks with her school years at Hogwarts place her in an unfavourable position.
Unmannerly comments regarding her family bring out the anger within her and Leta often draws her wand subtly and casts simple yet disturbing spells on fellow students. It’s no wonder why she finds comfort only in young Newt Scamander (who is shown treating her with shy kindness). Watching Leta admitting her supposed vileness as an adult dampened my spirits, for I confidently saw she was capable of great achievements:
“Dumbledore: This is a surprise.
Leta: Finding me in a classroom? Was I such a bad student?
Dumbledore: On the contrary, you were one of my cleverest.
Leta: I said bad, not stupid. Don’t bother answering. I know you never liked me.
Dumbledore: Well, you’re wrong. I never thought you bad.
Leta: You were alone, then. Everybody else did. And they were right. I was wicked.”
Dumbledore also cleverly anticipates Leta’s heart-breaking confession towards the end of the movie (“It’s never too late to free yourself. Confession is a relief, I’m told. A great weight lifted. Regret is my constant companion. Do not let it become yours.”) and we are once again indicated how vulnerable we can all be when the past never leaves our present and disturbs our future.
Nagini and Credence Barebone
You won’t see Voldemort’s cruel snake the same ever again once you are introduced to its human form, a woman who feels love and pain like any other and wants to live freely. For now, Nagini (Claudia Kim) is far from being a Horcrux, but she does carry the title of Maledictus, which symbolizes a person suffering from a blood curse that eventually causes the victim to permanently become another creature (in Nagini’s case, the infamous snake). Throughout the film, the apprehensive girl is seen aiding Credence (Ezra Miller) and being his voice of reason in times of doubt.
Credence was a whimpering orphan in the first chapter of Fantastic Beasts, a boy severely controlled by his parasitic Obscurus. The Crimes of Grindelwald offers us a far more purposeful young man who longs for his identity to be revealed. It goes without saying that he is the crucial core of this magical universe, his fate straightforwardly altering the future of others, therefore he will be taken care of properly. What I’m particularly worried about is Nagini’s development. It is quite demanding to envisage her certain behavioural shift when the audience comes across a girl shouting feeble protests and whose progressive love is not reciprocated. Her frail presence had better receive justice in the following movies; she does not deserve to be part of a trifling bombshell, added for the sake of initiating more discussions.
Albus Dumbledore
On second thoughts, any element borrowed from the Harry Potter series will undergo radical modifications and you are bound to apprehend them entirely different, regardless of the context. The young charismatic Dumbledore (Jude Law) holds the indistinguishable benevolent traits and proves he has always been a caring wizard and teacher,
albeit I did detect his predisposal to having insecurities about his past. In Harry Potter he is the most feared wizard, due to his wisdom and unmatchable powers, and he tends to keep his life private, whereas in Fantastic Beasts he finally opens up a bit and declares that he’s been hurt and can’t bring himself to fight Grindelwald (with whom he has a powerful blood pact) – “We were closer than brothers.” Unquestionably, he is still a prominent personality who is conscious of how to handle situations and whom to have faith in.
Gellert Grindelwald
At last, the menacing enemy is brought forward. As mentioned in the beginning, out of all the characters, he’s the only one who is willing to wait for the suitable moment to pounce. And even then, he’s likely to opt for a more delicate and vigilant approach, as a matter of fact: “He [Credence] must come to me freely – and he will. The path has been laid, and he is following it. The trail that will lead him to me, and the strange and glorious truth of who he is.” The title of the movie signals a terror-stricken spree of felonies… but plot twist, Grindelwald barely steps out of his lair and thus, his most concerning wrongdoings are his mind games and skilful manipulation: “He’s extremely powerful. We’ve had to change his guard three times – he’s very… persuasive.” There are scenes wherein he escapes from a flying carriage and makes use of the gut-wrenching Killing Curse, but there are also moments when he no longer conceals his reluctance or demonstrates he’s not inherently evil as Voldemort:
“Rosier: When we’ve won, they’ll flee cities in the millions. They’ve had their time.
Grindelwald: We don’t say such things out loud. We want only freedom. Freedom to be ourselves.
Rosier: To annihilate non-wizards.
Grindelwald: Not all of them. Not all. We’re not merciless. The beast of burden will always be necessary.”
Dishearteningly, but not unexpectedly, the assertive wizard takes on a political stance. As soon as he gathers up enough “followers”, he delivers a well-thought-out speech about the dangers humans pose.
His introduction should function as a stable evidence that he can be selfless and considerate towards people’s most daunting needs:
“My brothers, my sisters, my friends: the great gift of your applause is not for me. No. It is for yourselves. You came today because of a craving and a knowledge that the old ways serve us no longer… You come today because you crave something new, something different.”
Both manipulation and womanipulation all the way down, no hesitation towards this one. And does Grindelwald’s plan work? Of course it does. It is through him that we find out Credence’s true name – Aurelius Dumbledore (a rather imprecise element, given one of the many plot holes). It is through the cunning wizard that we observe a new Queenie, one who unfathomably doesn’t rely on her mind reading capabilities anymore and chooses to belong to the dark side. Grindelwald should not be underestimated, admittedly, for he could even convince us Muggles that we are a threat to both “the wizardry world” and to ourselves. He does articulate a few bitter truths:
“It is said that I hate Les Non-Magiques. The Muggles. The No-Maj. The Can’t-Spells. I do not hate them. For I do not fight out of hatred. I say the Muggles are not lesser, but other. Not worthless, but of other value. Not disposable, but of a different disposition. Magic blooms only in rare souls. It is granted to those who live for higher things. Oh, and what a world we could make, for all of humanity. We who live for freedom, for truth – and for love.”
“That is what we are fighting! That is the enemy – their arrogance, their power lust, their barbarity. How long will it take before they turn their weapons on us?”
“Your anger – your desire for revenge – is natural.”
Grindelwald calls for more allocated time, despite receiving the most attention. His disputed personality cannot persuade me to consider him one of the most memorable antagonists.
Perhaps my opinion will change in time, but until then, the only person who’ll prompt me to keep watching Fantastic Beasts is…
Newt Scamander
One of the few purest souls I’ve ever encountered. Played by Eddie Redmayne, Newt is the downright representation of the amusing fear towards working in offices, and unmitigated love pouring galore. The first movie sketched him as a gentle wizard who believes in creatures of all sorts and their fantastic abilities, hence the title of the series.
When it came to human interaction, Newt would be prone to muttering his lines to the ground. In The Crimes of Grindelwald, however, he can lift his eyes more frequently, strike witty and deferential remarks and end the sentences with a fleeting smile. From what I’ve noticed, the audience can’t regard him as a dominant hero yet. I, on the other hand, suspect that he’s going to undertake an appropriate blooming and turn into the unforgettable figure which I’ve recognized in him from the very beginning:
“Dumbledore: Do you know why I admire you, Newt? More, perhaps, than any man I know? You don’t seek power or popularity. You simply ask, is the thing right in itself? If it is, then I must do it, no matter the cost.”
What I desire to see further on is his and Tina Goldstein’s (Katherine Waterston) relationship. Unlike Queenie and Jacob who hit it off quickly, it takes some time for Auror Tina and Magizoologist Newt to make any actual eye contact, as depicted in the first movie.
Moreover, Fantastic Beasts’ ending hinted at the tension between them two, sparked off by Tina’s question “Does Leta Lestrange like to read?”, verbalized through tears scarcely held back. Newt’s reply “I don’t really know what Leta likes these days, cause people change. I’ve changed.” was far from putting me off, for I could sense he would gain enough courage to share his emotions.
Assuredly, The Crimes of Grindelwald does squeeze in a short scene where the bashful Newt toughens up and divulges to Tina his appreciation for her salamander-like eyes (hands down, one of the most heartfelt compliments ever heard – here’s to more in the future, please?):
“Newt: I got this – I mean, it’s just a picture of you from the paper, but it’s interesting because your eyes in newsprint… See, in reality they have this effect in them, Tina… It’s like fire in water, in dark water. I’ve only ever seen that – I’ve only ever seen that in –
Tina: Salamanders?”
As a conclusive confession, it disappoints me to perceive countless figures with such potential being carelessly thrown all over the place. Rowling hasn’t lost her way with words and vivid descriptions, but she gives us the impression of a muddled witch who aimlessly pours into her bubbling cauldron people – in the form of ingredients. If you lean closer, you may even catch her whispering Nebulus, to confuse us more than ever with the cluster of destinies disorderly intertwined. Director David Yates pops in and struggles to elucidate (or rather disguise) Rowling’s surprising lack of coherence, by bringing up a large on-set team and compensating the plot with adorable CGI beasts and eye-catching architecture. At the time being, some of us may be distracted and state that the movie is not as mixed up as it appears to be… but how long will we believe the series are as magical as we expect them to be? Outlooks vary, but luckily, I know what will keep me rooting for the upcoming chapters… Expecto Patronum!
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