Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore Movie Review

Harry Potter is an iconic property, but for the last decade it’s been coasting along with diminishing returns. The franchise took a major downturn in 2018 with The Crimes of Grindelwald, but production has continued at pace. One recast and several delays later, The Secrets of Dumbledore makes an improvement, but not by much.

Several years after Grindelwald’s rebellion, the dark wizard (now played by Mads Mikkelsen) is consolidating more power across Europe by rigging elections and tricking the masses into following him. To foil his plan, Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) forms a team with his brother Theseus (Callum Turner), Professor Lalie Hicks (Jessica Williams) and the returning Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler). You’ll quickly notice that the many side-threads and pointless characters from the second film have been ditched. The third entry starts with a clear focus and commits without any distractions; Dumbledore (Jude Law) plays a much bigger role here and his dealings with Grindelwald are given greater emphasis.

Be that as it may, the production has a hard time pulling you in. There’s a lot of talking and political scheming in Secrets of Dumbledore which diminishes the excitement. Entries in the original series were always able to switch things up with a thrilling set piece, but here the offering is very shallow. I even noticed my brother checking his watch at several points on the way through. A brief rescue sequence from a monster’s lair is the only highlight to be found, being a skilful blend of light comedy and special effects. The film’s story is caught somewhere in-between flowing and dragging, not taking the steps needed to elevate the spin-offs.

Sadly, with a few exceptions, the characterisation is forgettable and uninteresting. Eddie Redmayne and Jude Law are the best performers here, but their characters don’t progress very much. They simply maintain their calm demeanours while looking to take down their foe. Mads Mikkelsen does a reasonable job as Grindlewald, even if he doesn't go beyond a basic archetype. Katherine Waterston’s Tina was written out of the narrative for the most part, showing the filmmakers had no use for her in the story. She’s replaced by several cast members who really don’t do anything throughout the runtime. Queenie (Alison Sudol) has abandoned her ditsy persona for a very flat performance and Yusuf Kama (William Nadylam) is completely absent for the second act, making his character feel especially pointless. On the other hand, Lalie is more charismatic and witty, making her a worthy addition to the series. Jacob has his moments of humour, but yet again he’s mostly along for the ride and never feels like a definitive member of the team. There’s very little attachment to the characters, something this series has had trouble with since 2018.

The action is quite brief on this occasion; it’s rare to see a wizard dual last longer than a few minutes as the film often pivots to set and costume design instead. Both are finely detailed with the 1930s aesthetic blending well with floating dinners and magical creatures. Special effects have always been a key part of the franchise and the designs of the creatures are very endearing for the most part. It’s clear the prequel saga hasn’t forgotten what sets it apart from the mainline releases. The soundtrack mostly reuses pieces from previous films with some heightened cues for the battle sequences and the destruction on display is edited well. Very few will fault the presentation here, it maintains the high standards of the franchise.

Fantastic Beasts the third drops much of the baggage and unnecessary padding of its predecessor; this is a welcome step forward, but it doesn’t stop the film from feeling bland and uneventful. There’s a serious lack of excitement, flair and development from start to finish; this prequel series is still struggling to gain ground and with two more films to come, the Wizarding World will have to do a lot more to get audiences invested.

Rating: 2.5/5 Stars (Mediocre)