Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (David Yates, November 16th, 2018) Movie • Page 4

I don't know if anyone else here listens to the Binge Mode podcast, but they have a theory I absolutely love on the final "reveal" at the end of the film. Would definitely recommend checking it out.

 

it’s the only thing that makes any sense

 

This movie is more confused about what it is than Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

It's the new entry in the Fantastic Beasts saga, about the crimes of Grinderwald, following main character Newt Scamander, but revolving mainly around the origin of Credence Barebone.

 

i guess if you pretend credence is a fantastic beast, the movie is indeed about where to find him

 

Just got home from seeing the film. Some takeaways:

- Jude Law is, without a shadow of a doubt, the best film portrayal we've ever had of Dumbledore.
- Good lord, the costumes in this series have been outstanding thus far (aside from Grindelwald's unnecessary eye)
- Really struggling, like I think many other people are, with the way in which the first film connects with the other four in this series. Seems clear that the story moving forward is Grindelwald vs Dumbledore. And Newt seems key in whatever endgame there is with Credence, as he's successfully encased an Obscurus before. As much as I liked Tina, Queenie, and Jacob, they really were not necessary for this film at all. There were so many new characters introduced in this film that it was impossible to really keep track of them/care about them, aside from Theseus and Leta. Either drop those characters from the first film or have them take on the roles of the many new characters introduced whose names I don't even recall.
- Hoo boy, the pacing in this movie was all over the place.
- I am really fond of the theory that at the end of the film, Grindelwald and Queenie are talking to/about Ariana Dumbledore's Obscurus, which somehow attached itself to Credence. Ariana is supposed to have died in 1899, and according to the screenplay of this film, the boat sinking takes place in 1901, so the dates are close enough for this to be plausible, although it would involve someone else successfully encasing the Obscurus. Given the fact that both Grindelwald and Dumbledore, two of the greatest wizards of all time, were present during Ariana's death, though, this doesn't seem out of the realm of possibility (especially if Newt was able to encase one himself). I could go on about this for a bit, but I really don't think they would have Dumbledore specifically mentioning Ariana earlier in this film if she wasn't going to be a factor of some sort in where this is all going.
- What makes me nervous about the validity of the theory above is the fact that Minerva McGonagall is in this movie and that makes no fucking sense and if I can't trust JK (who is admittedly bad with dates/numbers, but you wrote an entire history of the character on Pottermore so...) to get that right, maybe I shouldn't have so much faith in this theory I'm clinging on to.
- Speaking of things that make no fucking sense, why is Nagini even in this movie? We don't get enough of her and Credence together to make it seem like she'll have some role in his final arc (though, I'm sure she will), and we don't get enough of her on her own to even get a sense of what she's like as an individual. With both Tina and Queenie making their way to Paris, seems like you could have written either of those characters in place of Nagini.
- Overall, this movie really lacked the sense of magic as a whole that the first one had. Maybe the first one gets undeserving points because it was the first time we had seen magic back on the big screen in quite some time, but I truly enjoyed that film and left the theater with that same feeling I got inside after reading the very first book as a kid. This movie didn't capture any of that. I'm struggling to figure out who this movie was even for at this point (I cannot see someone who isn't a huge Potterhead understanding even half of what is going on in this film, and even if the majority of it is just misdirection, there's a lot that seems ripe to turn off a lot of Potterheads from the future films), but holding on to hope that once the final three films are released, we'll be able to look back on this installment a little more fondly, even if it's structured poorly.

 

I like grindelwald’s eye haha. As for dumbledore I love Law and the acting but I can’t get over how he looks absolutely nothing like either future dumbledore.

 

Good. I would like to forget both versions of Dumbledore from the original film franchise as quickly as possible

 

As a more casual fan of the franchise, I'm more bothered by the mistreatment of the film's female characters than any lore slip-ups. All things considered, though, it's been almost a week now since I've seen it and I must say, I really, really enjoyed this movie, probably more-so than Deadpool 2 and Solo, which had some of the same problems. It could've been better in a lot of ways, yes, and the title doesn't fit at all, but like, the fact that this was more of a bridge to later films than a standalone doesn't bother me at all.

 

I absolutely adore the Harry Potter franchise (mostly) but I didn’t like the first Fantastic Beasts at all and am pretty hesitant to see this. But I love world so I kinda wanna see it? Maybe I’ll wait until I can watch it at home.

 

I mean, the larger story really starts going in this one, so as a HP fan you should watch it at some point

 

Though I am by no means a fan of the Harry Potter franchise (only a few of the original series I got truly invested in) I have nonetheless stuck with this series and this was enjoyable but not satisfying. Felt like it was juggling too many elements without ever hitting it out of the park on a single one of them all the while tonally it is all over the place. Impressive visuals, love the score, the production is solid and the cast is good but just wish there was a focus on a single plot rather than trying to link up past films and future ones.

 

The last act is very good, I agree that some of the pacing was odd. Felt like things screeched to a halt and then shot forward at the speed of sound into the final act. Bringing the Titanic into the story was a cool touch for me. I enjoyed the film, and was more interested in this one than I was the first one.

I find it hard to believe that Creedence/Ralius is Dumbledore’s brother though. They kept saying his family/bloodline (Dumbledore says family while speaking of the Phoenix) the whole movie, and then right at the end Grindelwald says Albus is his brother. Idk I feel like he is going to be a distant relative or maybe his nephew he didn’t know about (although I feel like his sister died young, so idk if that is possible). Just seemed like Grindelwald twisting things around a bit.

 

I don't think it was the Titanic. The film takes place in 1927, when Credence is supposedly in his 20s. The Titanic sank in 1912. Also, the boat sank because of a storm, which the Titanic did not do.

 

I hope Rowling has the rest of the saga already mapped (if not written) out. As much as some of the little things bug me, perhaps everything will make more sense as part of the whole. Though, there's also a chance she's just writing each part as she goes, and it's still going to be a little bit of a mess.

 

Do I need to watch the first one to get this? Or would a YouTube video/Wikipedia suffice?

 

I’m familiar with the history of the titanic lol.

He could very easily be 24/25, given Dumbledore’s age. All it showed was a lifeboat sinking due to being cap-sized by a small wave, presumably because it was over-filled, there was no rain or anything. All of the scenes inside of the ship looked pretty similar to pictures of the inside of the Titanic. Plus it was going from England to America, idk it seems like that’s what they were going for

 

Nah a YouTube recap video would suffice

 

This wouldn’t make him 24/25 though, it would make him 14/15.

 

Yes. Math.

 

Yeah I literally just realized this like three seconds ago. Was thinking 1937 lol

 

Given the mess made of the mcgonagall and dumbledore stories already I see no reason she can’t mess up the titanic’s as well

 

I really liked this! saw it last night. for sure some pacing issues and it is juggling a lot setting up what's to come. also some scenes were filled with uber exposition dumps, but I know I'm in for all the films so I'm happy to go along for the ride. not as much action as I expected from the trailer, but I really enjoyed my time with the characters. might be the first time in a while I've been super into a Johnny Depp performance. probably after further views I may recognize things I don't like or maybe some things will were better, but either way. I was really into it.

 

Ugh, this was one of my least favorite movies Ive seen in a while. Enjoyed very little of it. Hurts me to dislike something from this universe. I really hope Fantastic Beats follows the original series where the third movie changes directors and change styles because honestly at this point Im not excited for the rest of the series. I hate asking for people to lose their job, but Yates has done 5 of these and his style feels stale. Im hoping for a new director and if Jo wants to write thats fine, but Im really hoping she collaborates with an experienced screen writer this time.

 

filming next year

‘Fantastic Beasts 3’ Finally Moves Forward With Filming