I thought it was definitely comparable in tone/quality to at least the first two HP films, but to be fair, those are also two of my favorites.
i think I like those more. But that's just because they adapted the books so accurately. As movies they have issues.
I feel like the first two harry potter movies were much more like the books in their style so I don't really see that, they're also classics. this movie was much more like the later ones with the emphasis on the humor/drama/relationships and that greyish filter they put on every thing. The Hobbit comparison is very accurate, especially with the amount of unnecessary cgi. Can't we just make good sets and costume/makeup effects again instead of just leaving it up to post? They are also going to stretch this story out way too long like the hobbit too no doubt..
This was a lot of fun, though some things could have been handled better. The reveal especially, because although that character is mentioned a few times throughout the movie, it's never tied clearly to what's happening in the main plot. The female lead was great, and I thought she looked familiar but it doesn't look like I've seen any of her other movies.
Katherine Waterson is burned into my brain after her incredible performance in Inherent Vice, so much so that I didn't recognize her in this. She's an absolutely phenomenal talent. I was entertained by this movie and thought it had some threads with potential, but overall it has some glaring flaws that could have been tidied up or revised. It wasn't too bad, but it wasn't exactly good.
Katherine Waterston was great in Inherent Vice and Queen of Earth, and I thought she was great in this. Definitely a fan of hers now.
This was just okay for me. Thought it dragged on forever. I feel like you could have had a movie with just finding the beasts or just dealing with the obscura but throwing both story lines into the one movie made it seem really long to me. Also, I just don't like Eddie Redmayne.