nov 8, 2018 - USA TODAY
Fantastic Beasts
reviews: Overstuffed
Crimes of Grindelwald
loses the magic
Description:
'Fantastic Beasts' reviews are in: Overstuffed 'Crimes of Grindelwald' loses the magic
By BRYAN ALEXANDER
Did someone pull out a "Dumble-snore" joke?
The first reviews are in for Eddie Redmayne's return as Newt Scamander in “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald" (in theaters Nov. 16). The second of five planned spinoffs written by "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling continues building a new universe with its wizard, an emerging villain in Johnny Depp's Gellert Grindelwald and a young Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law).
The reviews noted a new batch of characters and stuffed storylines vying for attention in the sequel from director David Yates, who also helmed the first “Beasts” and the final four of the eight “Harry Potter” films.
Critics strongly preferred the first "Beasts": The new movie received just 52 percent positive reviews on aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes, compared to 74 percent for the 2016 original.
USA TODAY's Brian Truitt liked it more than most, calling "Crimes" a darker and bolder film that intertwines different eras of the "Potter" mythology and delivers a more relevant cinematic villain in Depp's Grindelwald. But he noted that the complex story results in diminished screentime for the core characters.
"Old-school Potterheads will rejoice, though fans of the charmingly quirky group of heroes from the first 'Beasts' may lament their do-gooders getting lost in a growing magical landscape," Truitt wrote.
The Los Angeles Times' Justin Chang pulled out the "Dumble-snore" snipe in the headline.
Chang called the movie "an excruciating bore just barely enlivened by stray glimpses of Hogwarts, a flicker of gay romance and a menagerie of computer-generated creepy-crawlies," adding that it "is enough to make J.K. Rowling fans weep in frustration, provided they can even keep their eyes open."
Variety reviewer Andrew Barker was lost by the universe building and array of new characters, calling it the "noisiest, most rhythmless, and least coherent entry in the Wizarding World saga" since the first "Harry Potter" film.
"It’s still quite early in the 'Fantastic Beasts' saga, but it’s hard not to worry about the franchise heading in a similar direction," Barker wrote.
The Hollywood Reporter reviewer Caryn James found the film a "huge step up" from the "middling" first movie. "The sequel has better and at times galvanizing special effects, a darker tone and a high-stakes battle between good and evil. Best of all, its characters are more vibrantly drawn, and tangled in relationships that range from delightful to lethal."
But, James added, Redmayne's Scamander is "no Harry Potter, at least not yet."
IndieWire's Kate Erbland wrote that "the overstuffed sequel loses some of its magic."
"The cracks are starting to show in J.K. Rowling’s much-hyped followup series to 'Harry Potter,' a franchise that is at the mercy of slapdash planning ... and the kind of higher-up decree that promised five films (five!) before the first one hit theaters," Erbland wrote, calling Rowling's screenplay "bloated."
The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw called the sequel "saggy."
Bradshaw wrote he "couldn’t help feeling that the narrative pace was a little hampered, and that we are getting bogged down, just a bit, in a lot of new detail. Having said which: the architectural detail of JK Rowling’s creativity is as awe-inspiring as ever."
SOURCE:
US VA Court Documents:
- Amber Heard Exhibit 118
Added to timeline:
The Johnny Depp Chronology
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard Complete Timeline
The Johnny De...
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