[Movie Review] Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)

Posted on November 18, 2016 by thegrandshuckett in Movie Reviews // 0 Comments

Official Site

Director: David Yates

Writers: J.K. Rowling

Runtime: 133 min

Main Cast:

Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander
Gemma Chan as Madame Ya Zou
Erza Miller as Credence
Colin Farrell as Percival Graves
Zoë Kravitz as Lestrange
Dan Fogler as Jacob Kowalski

Review: by Faith & Marie

Second Review: By Mia

We were super excited to review this film and definitely set our standards high for what we expected to see. Knowing that this film is a prequel to the fantastic Harry Potter films; we already knew the story itself was going to be amazing. I mean look who the writer is! It wasn’t just us who looked like “kids in a candy story” while watching this movie. The whole theater was eager and excited as well. There were many “oohs” and “ahhs” circulating throughout the theater during the entire movie. That statement in itself should let the world know that this is definitely a movie you will want to see in theaters.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is based on J. K. Rowling’s original story about Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), the author of a Hogwarts Textbook that describes various beasts and dragons. The movie follows Newt’s adventures in New York’s secret community of witches and wizards 70 years before Harry Potter first arrived at Hogwarts. Just like in the Harry Potter movie saga, there is some action and violence to watch out for as Newt searches for his misplaced magical creatures in the No-Maj (American term for “Muggle) world.

What We Liked:

In the films entirety, we liked the whole movie. If we had to pick one things, it would have to be when the “No-Maj” first stepped into the suitcase with Newt. There were so many wonderful and things to see inside and it was not typical; where we knew what we were going to see. There was anticipation in place to bring about that scene. Getting to see wonders that semi-reminded us of the wonders of Harry Potter made this one particular scene extremely enjoyable.

What We Didn’t Like:

Although there were many scenes in which the wizards and witches wands were used; it would have been nice to see more battles with the wands. Like “one on one” battles. There was really only a couple. There also were not as many magical moments like in the previous Harry Potter films. This was slightly disappointing but definitely not a deal breaker. The movie was still awesome!

Second Review: by Mia

It was pretty hard to miss the phenomenonal Book to Film evolution of JK Rowlings’ first popular series: Harry Potter. For the past 15 years, her fantasy series has drawn book fans and newcomers alike to theaters in order to witness her words come to life. For even longer, children and adults alike have been enamored with the experiences of Harry Potter and his many different friends, colleagues, mentors, and enemies at Hogwarts. Personally, I haven’t read the books. At this point, I am saving the experience to share with my children for the first time. But I grew up surrounded by adamant fans, stuffed into lines on opening night at theaters to welcome the next episode of JK Rowlings Wizarding World into film. With this film, things were no different.

I was excited to see what JK Rowlings could do with a world we were already sufficiently familiar with in order to not only expand on the knowledge of her fans, but refresh our fascination with the Wizarding Arts. Beasts was a very intriguing concept. Why should humans be the only entities on Earth who can wield magic? So when I first encountered the concept of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, I knew that I would be pulled even deeper into this world.

The story is set in the mid to late 1920s and centers around Newton Scamander (Newt), a British former Hogwarts Student newly arrived to New York City in a time where tensions are high due to numerous pressures on the hidden Wizard World in America: (1) Wizarding Fugitive and his Fanatics are wreaking havoc throughout, (2) Beasts are being banned across the region as dangerous uncontrollable creatures, (3) New York City is under attack by a massive invisible entity, most likely an undocumented Beast of some sort. Newt arrives in the midst of these issues and is immediately drawn into a game of cat and mouse when one of his lovable Beasts (a kleptomaniacal Niffler) escapes his Briefcase, which is no ordinary case at all. Newt is a practicing Magizoologist, interested in documenting the magic wildlife that deserves respect and understanding within his world, not condemnation. His Briefcase not only contains a number of Beasts, but also an entire Wildlife Preserve with multiple habitats to house genuinely Fantastic Beasts. During his endeavors to track down his fugitive Niffler with a love for shiny valuable objects, Newt finds himself entwined with a Factory Worker/Aspiring Baker Jacob Kowalski, a recently scandalized and demoted Auror Porpentina/Tina, and her sister Queenie.

Together, these four encounter the dangers caused not only by the escaping of a few of Newt’s Fantastic Beasts, but also the mysterious Beast destroying New York City and killing innocent people, as well as the Corrupt and Secretive Auror Graves, who turns out to be more than anyone expected.

Faith & Marie Score
Mia's Score

4.5

Summary

Faith & Marie: We were so happy that this film lived up to our expectations. We greatly enjoyed this movie and are now eager and awaiting the coming of the 2nd film. This movie brought life all over again to the Harry Potter Fan Community, and had many surprises to gear us up for the next one. There were loads of funny moments as well as some sad and serious, which makes it a great film for all young and older adults to see.

Mia: This movie was one of the most entertaining all year. It contained comedy, romance, thrills, mystery, tragedy, and of course Fantastic Beasts. Newt’s character is endearing, as is his new found No-Maj friend Jacob Kowalski, who you find yourself most attached to. Kowalski is the audience, thrust into the world of magic for the first time and, amongst the fear and danger and amazingness of it all, he finds himself totally in love with every experience until he can’t imagine ever having not known at all. The Sisters are clever, flawed, and magically powerful. One proves herself, despite all her mistakes, to be probably the most competent Investigator in all of New York while the other is a powerful and fearless Leglimens (mind reader, simply put). You follow them all across New York City, watching them destroy and rebuild the city with magic as they fight their way through dangers, false accusations, and insecurities. Ultimately, it is up to them to save everyone, which is predictable. It is also pretty frustrating how incompetent every authority figure outside of Tina within the city seems to be, whether a Wizard of No-Maj (Muggle). It serves as a pretty direct perspective of Americans from one British point-of-view, maybe, but it also makes the story entirely the fault of a group of people who must have been ruling the Wizarding world with their eyes squeezed shut. Luckily, Newt and his band of misfits manage to save the day. A lot of the plot holes are probably well explained by a nice long read of the manuscript that led to this film. However, based on the film alone, these little details are sorely missed.
Still, this is definitely worth the ticket to watch. The special effects are seamless and the acting of the major characters really develops these characters and relationships well. You are really attached to these characters by the time they encounter truly perilous events. You are sucked into the mystery that is the villain and the plot twist that he provides. I won’t say much more without giving it away, but I can honestly say this film has replay value.

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