Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)

Dreadfully Boring

Am I Missing Something?

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Seriously, I fell asleep. The 1st half of the movie is an absolute waste of time. The plot development doesn't even begin until an hour into the movie.

I am fan of Harry Potter. I have read all books, seen all the movies, and even I had 'Fantastic Beast and where to find them' book long before this project was announced. So I think the idea of a movie about this is a little bit confusing. However, I went to cinema hyped and remembering all good moments Harry Potter saga delivered me in childhood. But this movie was not up to the expectations. Hype did a disservice to this title. Harry Potter is a collection of books, and all the potential this world offers, was insufficiently exploited in a movie script. In fact, I did not understand the movie's direction very well. Is this a movie about differences between magical people and no magical people? About a 'cold war' between the two worlds? About Grindelwald's dark intentions? Or is it about chasing pokemon? When the movie makes its pace, a strange scene about strange creatures appears and changes the atmosphere. It's messy and confusing, because the plot involving magical attacks, second salemers and the candidate for president is interesting and intriguing.Also, the design of the creatures was unexpected. I know they're all from the book, but in a film of magical creatures, I expected more creatures like dragons, gryphs, centaurs, etc. Something more mythological. In particular, the erumpent scene was shocking in terms of banishing the dark atmosphere that was growing with the plot before mentioned, and seems too childish.But apart form that, the movie has very good and very enjoyable elements. Colin Farrell does a powerful and menacing character, specially in the interrogation scene. I loved the character of Tina, she manages to perform a prudent, doubtful but good-hearted role, and her relation with Newt seems very honest and natural. As I mentioned before, the dark atmosphere of Harry Potter is succesfully managed, and the movie is visually stunning. Also, the work of the musical department is outstanding, having its climax in the thunderbird flight, which is a powerfull and very beautiful scene.The movie has its enjoyable elements, but fails to reach the hype with some messy issues. It is an unstable beginning to a saga, and it somehow seems that it is a movie made thinking more in the sequel that in its own. However it does not ruin the potential it has, and I hope sequels could overcome this one because we know what Harry Potter world is able to give us.

First of all I have to say that I'm a Hary Potter fan, having spent hours reading all the books and watching all the movies again and again (for those who will say that I'm a JK Rowling hater...). It's needless to say that I had big expectations from J.K. Rowling and her new films series but I was really disappointed... After watching the trailer I expected to get thrilled with her new work but I feel like this movie used the fact that all the fans and new people willing to watch J.K. Rowling's new masterpiece would pay and as a result the movie would break the box office. First of all I have to say that the plot was ok but nothing in order for you to say wow. The use of CGI during the entire movie makes it boring and "child friendly". I firmly believe that the magic suitcase which can travel you to a different world definitely isn't the best she can do. Also, doubtless one of the reasons why Harry Potter lasted so long was the fact that it showed us every character's personality and how all the friends matched together. It's wasn't all about the story and the production (since both have CGI) but it's about how everything was made in order to give the feeling that your part of it and make you want to participate in every scene. That's something I missed in the new movie since I made me feel like I'm watching a film for two hours and that's it. Hope the next one will do better.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a film directed by David Yates. I had watched some of the Harry Potter films years ago. Then I came to know about this particular film which was a prequel to the Harry Potter Films. Seeing the craze of the Harry Potter series in many people, I decided to give this film a try. And I enjoyed it.Plot: Newt Scamander arrives in New York when some of his creatures escape from his suitcase and it is upto him and his allies to save the day.Story and direction: This is J K Rowling's first film as a screenwriter and I can say she has done a wonderful job in creating a world where both magicians and normal citizens live together. Hats off to David Yates and team, for creating a world for creating a world I so want to be in. The creature designs were fantastic and that goes on to say how talented the crew is. The characters for this story were so mesmerizing. Each of these characters had something to be liked. The comedy also was so good and never felt forced or out of place. The action scenes were so nicely done. The production design and costumes transported me back to the 1920's. But the film, was not all perfect. The film's first 20-30 minutes, felt little flat for me. But that was understandable, as I was getting to know this world and it was a slow-buildup movie. Also the editing and VFX in certain portions of the film felt little haywire.Performances: Eddie Redmayne was very lovable as Newt. The little chacacters nuances were perfectly performed by him. Katherine Waterston also provided some great support to Newt's character. Dan Fogler was the comic relief and he was impressive. Allison Sudol was good too. Ezra Miller was awesome. You could feel the pain his characater was going through. Colin Farrell was great. And for those who haven't seen this film, I would say just wait for Johnny Depp. Yes, he is there in the film. But I won't go any further.Favorite Scene: Again no spoilers but there is a scene involving, Newt, Tina, Queenie and Jacob towards the climax that was heart-touching. I also teared up for a bit. Verdict: I had a fun time watching this film. For a person who has not been updated with the Harry Potter series, I fully understood the film. And was quite happy that the film didn't rely on Harry Potter. It's good on its own. I am going with an 8/10.