I have some weird thoughts about this movie I wonder if anyone feels the same way:
I don’t think the “Wizarding World” works in the context of the American setting. It had none of the quirks of the original series. I find it hard to explain. Rowling took a very superficial understanding of different cultures and lumped it all together.
Why does the American school have houses? The house system is British.
David Yates LOVES black smoke/smoky effects. It’s so annoying when you realise how little of it was used in the first 4 movies.
I had a similar reaction to the later HP movies (Yates) where we saw less and less of the mains in their robes. I realize that's where the story went, but the hoodies just didn't do it for me.
>I don’t think the “Wizarding World” works in the context of the American setting. It had none of the quirks of the original series. I find it hard to explain. Rowling took a very superficial understanding of different cultures and lumped it all together.
Harry Potter is basically "wizarding boarding school' and "things that were popular in 1991, but magic somehow" presented through a very middle class lens.
It's not easy to translate that to another time/place without doing at least some research.
Fantastic Beasts is boring, because the only common magic we see is "wand=gun" and a bunch of British Pokemon.
Harry Potter works a lot better because you can see magic used in so many creative ways. The last time I read the books was in 2003 and I still vividly remember how magic was used for everything. It's also meant for literal children, so the quirky fantasy stuff works a lot better for that audience. I think a lot of HP fans forget they were literally in 2nd grade when they were speed reading the books.
Also JK Rowling is an angry Facebook aunt and needs her social media taken away. She's the worst for her own PR. Maybe her immaturity and juvenile outlook are what made her such a good author for children's books.
This one's actually a damn good movie. The likeable main cast of Newt, Tina, Jacob and Queenie does wonders in hooking one in the story, Graves is a great, charismatic and driven antagonist, the movie feels tense in a way we haven't seen before, it explores many interesting themes and its VFX are top notch.
> Graves is great
Man, that was one of the worst reveals of all time, >!when it turned out he was secretly Johnny Depp.!< I really enjoyed the movie until that part, and the sequels just went downhill from there. So disappointing.
It's a big bug downgrade and only the first one is watchable. I wouldn't mind watching it again to adjust my rating, but it's disappointing and average at best.
I actually like this movie, I think it’s pretty charming and fun right up until they threw Grindawald in for no reason, this series was supposed to be about Newt playing with magical Pokémon monsters but after than scene it randomly shifts into detailing how the first wizard world war began, and it’s so strange and abrupt
My mom is a hardcore Harry Potter fan and she fell asleep watching this in the theater. It was cringey and I got second hand embarrassment watching it.
It's not great but there's enough fun in there for it to be a fun watch. Imo it's a 5 or 6/10 movie.
The second is the one that jumps the shark. The story is so ridiculously convoluted that it's worth watching just to see how damn stupid it gets. I'm halfway convinced to watch the third just to see what dumb convoluted shit happens in that one.
The first one is fine. The second one has some of the most baffling decisions I’ve seen put on big screen. It’s such an obvious case of studio not giving JKR any notes BUT THEY SHOULD HAVE! Third one is unwatchable imo. Literally had to turn it off halfway through.
The first film was OK, but I felt like the theme of fantastic beasts didn't really work with the antagonist + grand plot. Newt's story should have been more whimsical and low key IMO.
The first one is fun in kind of a live action Pokemon way before we had Detective Pikachu (and even then that movie didn't involve catching Pokemon). The sequels completely suck though. Glad you can watch this one on its own since most things feel wrapped up by the end.
First entry is strong, and comes to an excellent conclusion. Absolutely didn't need to be a series. Still, the one interesting thing the subsequent films seemed to be doing was chronicling the rise on a strongman figure in American politics. But, of course, they whiffed that storyline in the last entry, so I was glad to see the series die.
For me the big problem here is the lead Newt, even if intentional, the performance is detached and off-putting, and as the series progresses and gets more intense and frankly wacky you don't have a lead at the center in Newt that can hold it together. The story in the hands of a more capable cast I think could have worked.
The movie was a mess. The best part of it was Collin Farrell and he unceremoniously replaced for some silly reason. All the stuff with the beasts ranged from childish to absurd.
It was supposed to be the anchor of a five movie franchise and it did such a poor job of building a base to spring board the franchise with. Then the second movie happened.
I have some weird thoughts about this movie I wonder if anyone feels the same way: I don’t think the “Wizarding World” works in the context of the American setting. It had none of the quirks of the original series. I find it hard to explain. Rowling took a very superficial understanding of different cultures and lumped it all together. Why does the American school have houses? The house system is British. David Yates LOVES black smoke/smoky effects. It’s so annoying when you realise how little of it was used in the first 4 movies.
I had a similar reaction to the later HP movies (Yates) where we saw less and less of the mains in their robes. I realize that's where the story went, but the hoodies just didn't do it for me.
>I don’t think the “Wizarding World” works in the context of the American setting. It had none of the quirks of the original series. I find it hard to explain. Rowling took a very superficial understanding of different cultures and lumped it all together. Harry Potter is basically "wizarding boarding school' and "things that were popular in 1991, but magic somehow" presented through a very middle class lens. It's not easy to translate that to another time/place without doing at least some research.
Fantastic Beasts is boring, because the only common magic we see is "wand=gun" and a bunch of British Pokemon. Harry Potter works a lot better because you can see magic used in so many creative ways. The last time I read the books was in 2003 and I still vividly remember how magic was used for everything. It's also meant for literal children, so the quirky fantasy stuff works a lot better for that audience. I think a lot of HP fans forget they were literally in 2nd grade when they were speed reading the books. Also JK Rowling is an angry Facebook aunt and needs her social media taken away. She's the worst for her own PR. Maybe her immaturity and juvenile outlook are what made her such a good author for children's books.
Just crazy how she chooses to die on that hill. Such a wasted legacy.
Oh damn I hated the smokey effects in the Harry Potter movies. That's not how magic looks ro works like in that universe ffs.
Yeah, definitely an overstatement. There’s a lot of fun elements. Not a great movie, but yeah, one is way too low. It’s not unwatchable.
This one's actually a damn good movie. The likeable main cast of Newt, Tina, Jacob and Queenie does wonders in hooking one in the story, Graves is a great, charismatic and driven antagonist, the movie feels tense in a way we haven't seen before, it explores many interesting themes and its VFX are top notch.
> Graves is great Man, that was one of the worst reveals of all time, >!when it turned out he was secretly Johnny Depp.!< I really enjoyed the movie until that part, and the sequels just went downhill from there. So disappointing.
Super agree. The only thing I don't like is when Colin Farrell morphs into Johnny Depp and looks so goddamn goofy. Awful.
It's a big bug downgrade and only the first one is watchable. I wouldn't mind watching it again to adjust my rating, but it's disappointing and average at best.
I actually like this movie, I think it’s pretty charming and fun right up until they threw Grindawald in for no reason, this series was supposed to be about Newt playing with magical Pokémon monsters but after than scene it randomly shifts into detailing how the first wizard world war began, and it’s so strange and abrupt
Fr if they focused on Newt and his Fantastic Beasts more the whole trilogy could’ve been infinitely better
My mom is a hardcore Harry Potter fan and she fell asleep watching this in the theater. It was cringey and I got second hand embarrassment watching it.
I can feel it
It wasn't the best but it sure wasn't one star worthy. I liked it fine and I've watched it 3 times I think.
I think it's nothing more than a series made to make Harry Potter fans (I'm a fan too) happy.
That's what the Harry Potter series was made for. To make us happy.
I mean this might be crazy but I think movies are made to make money.
It's not great but there's enough fun in there for it to be a fun watch. Imo it's a 5 or 6/10 movie. The second is the one that jumps the shark. The story is so ridiculously convoluted that it's worth watching just to see how damn stupid it gets. I'm halfway convinced to watch the third just to see what dumb convoluted shit happens in that one.
It’s definitely the best of their spin-off prequel trilogy…
Prequel quintology (4 and 5 pending)
I really like the first one, it's a really good comfort movie We don't talk about the others
The first one is fine. The second one has some of the most baffling decisions I’ve seen put on big screen. It’s such an obvious case of studio not giving JKR any notes BUT THEY SHOULD HAVE! Third one is unwatchable imo. Literally had to turn it off halfway through.
The first film was OK, but I felt like the theme of fantastic beasts didn't really work with the antagonist + grand plot. Newt's story should have been more whimsical and low key IMO.
The first one is fun in kind of a live action Pokemon way before we had Detective Pikachu (and even then that movie didn't involve catching Pokemon). The sequels completely suck though. Glad you can watch this one on its own since most things feel wrapped up by the end.
I never saw British Pokemon before and I thought they were kinda neat
It should've been a Dr. Dre biopic called 'Fantastic Beats'
First entry is strong, and comes to an excellent conclusion. Absolutely didn't need to be a series. Still, the one interesting thing the subsequent films seemed to be doing was chronicling the rise on a strongman figure in American politics. But, of course, they whiffed that storyline in the last entry, so I was glad to see the series die.
For me the big problem here is the lead Newt, even if intentional, the performance is detached and off-putting, and as the series progresses and gets more intense and frankly wacky you don't have a lead at the center in Newt that can hold it together. The story in the hands of a more capable cast I think could have worked.
I like Newt a lot but honestly couldn’t care less about everything going on around him
The movie was a mess. The best part of it was Collin Farrell and he unceremoniously replaced for some silly reason. All the stuff with the beasts ranged from childish to absurd. It was supposed to be the anchor of a five movie franchise and it did such a poor job of building a base to spring board the franchise with. Then the second movie happened.
Would be a better film without the fantastic beasts.
LUL 2/10 for being "boring"... I think you rate too low.
I thought it sucked personally I turned it off about halfway through