Variety
"Fantastic Beasts" assumes a similar level of engagement with its swollen dramatis personae, without allowing the time or putting in the work to earn it.
Full review
Fantastic Beasts 3D: The Crimes of Grindelwald
Eddie Redmayne returns to take on Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) in the second instalment of J.K. Rowling's fantasy adventure series.
Gellert Grindelwald has escaped imprisonment and has begun gathering followers to his cause—elevating wizards above all non-magical beings. The only one capable of putting a stop to him is the wizard he once called his closest friend, Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law). However, Dumbledore will need to seek help from the wizard who had thwarted Grindelwald once before, his former student Newt Scamander (Redmayne).
Less2018Rating: M, Fantasy themes and violence134 minsUSA, UK
AdventureFantasy3DBlockbuster
- Director:
- David Yates ('Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them', 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1', 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince')
- Writer:
- J.K. Rowling
- Cast:
- Eddie RedmayneJohnny DeppJude LawEzra MillerZoë KravitzKatherine WaterstonAlison SudolDan Fogler
Fantastic Beasts 3D: The Crimes of Grindelwald | Reviews
Time Out
With its callbacks to the Potter universe and a lovely eye for detail, The Crimes of Grindelwald has bags of intermittent charm and a warm familiarity. But too often, it feels like a beast that's been overburdened.
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The New York Times
Rowling has surrendered to her maximalist tendencies and so cluttered up the story that you spend far too much time trying to untangle who did what to whom and why.
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The Guardian
The architectural detail of JK Rowling's creativity is as awe-inspiring as ever.
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Stuff
If you're a true fan, these are the moments you live for. For the rest of us, maybe getting there a bit quicker and with a few less diversions, would have been appreciated.
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New Zealand Herald
For those already locked into her [JK Rowling's] Wizarding World, you won't mind the length and occasionally confusing scenes and will already be theorising about what happens next.
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Los Angeles Times
It offers up dazzling feats of sorcery and realms of wonderment and manages to conjure the very opposite of magic.
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Hollywood Reporter
That the film remains enticing despite its evolving, still-pallid hero speaks to Rowling's storytelling strengths.
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Empire Magazine
The second chapter in JK Rowling's five-part story, it's a film stuffed with characters, big moments and impressive spectacle but still feels bizarrely underpowered.
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BBC
An unfocused, overwhelming and ultimately numbing sprawl that seems to drag on forever.
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