Search the site...

COLME AARON
  • Movie Reviews
  • Yearly Top 10
    • Top Movies of 2021
    • Top Movies of 2020
    • Top Movies of 2019
    • Top Movies 2018
  • About
  • Movie Reviews
  • Yearly Top 10
    • Top Movies of 2021
    • Top Movies of 2020
    • Top Movies of 2019
    • Top Movies 2018
  • About

Movies In RevIew

Fantastic Beasts and Where to find them - review

11/18/2016

Comments

 
Picture
​Release Date: ​November 18, 2016
Gotta Catch Them All

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is the next installment of the Harry Potter franchise. That might not be abundantly clear, but they don't make a huge effort to remind you either. The only things in the movie itself that ties it to the the original series is the name dropping of Hogwarts and Dumbledore. Other than that, this is one in a series of four more upcoming movies to be prequels to the main Harry Potter series.

As prequels to one of the most famous movie franchises of all time, it is nice to be back in the wizarding world. The magic of all things wizards is a nice return to form for the movie, but there are some major differences that give the movie a fresh take on how we get to experience that world. The first and obvious difference is that the movie takes place in New York City and not in Europe. This adds a dynamic, deeper than first recognizable, that really helps the film to be more enjoyable than it might have been. Since the movie revolves around the characters in a city and not a school, this allows for more opportunities of how wizards blend in with muggles, or in America they are called nomaj. This adds a completely new way of enjoying the movie since in the main Harry Potter series the characters usually only interacted with other wizards.

Another aspect of the movie that was increased by the location change, was partly due to the period change as well. The movie takes place in 1926, which means that the whole experience seems to be a little magical.
Where the movie drops the ball a little comes from the main focus of the film and the actual inclusion of magic. 

The majesty of the magic world permeates from the main character Newt Scamander and the creatures he brings. Other than those beautiful reminders of how great the wizarding world is, the magic usage leaves something to be desired. The magic in the main Harry Potter film series was somewhat colorful and in high usage, dropping off in the later films, and was enjoyable when used. The magic in this current edition into the series has very limited magic usage other than an abundant use of disapparitions. The magic is also all a light blue without much variation of it all. The main series of Harry Potter movies had a little bit more color to its magic usage, slowly becoming just flicks of the wrist which this new entry has adopted. It doesn't make those magic battle scenes more interesting, other context is what gives those scenes life. 

The first 20 minutes of the movie is rocky and makes you question the veracity of the movie, but it does good on dispelling any worries you could have had with the movie. It makes you really care for the characters and the new wizarding world of New York in 1926. I became very fond of the new group of main characters and wanted to see them to return for the next four movies, but that may not be the case. How they ended the movie makes it seem like this is the last time we will see Newt and the group, bring the only question as to who would be up to the task of championing the new series.

For this question I have no answer, but I can tell you to see the movie in theaters. It definitely benefits from a large screen and even 3D if you can afford it, movie going is an expensive hobby.

​                                              8/10
                                     You're a wizard!
Comments
comments powered by Disqus

    Categories

    All
    20th Century Fox
    A24
    Action
    Adventure
    Amazon
    Animation
    Annapurna
    Blue Sky
    Blumhouse
    Comedy
    Comic Book Movie
    DC
    Detective
    Disney
    Disney+
    Disney Animation
    Drama
    DreamWorks
    Fantasy
    Focus Features
    Foreign Language
    Horror
    Illumination
    Kid's Movie
    Laika
    Legendary
    Lionsgate
    Live Action Fairy Tale
    Lucasfilm
    Marvel
    MGM
    Monster Movie
    Musical
    Neon
    Netflix
    Paramount
    Pixar
    Science Fiction
    Sony
    STX Entertainment
    Thriller
    Universal
    Video Game Movie
    War Movie
    Warner Bros.
    Western Japan Movie
    Zombie Movie

    Archives

    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.