By Nadia Ranaputri
Director: David Yates
Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Collin Farrell, Ezra Miller, Allison Sudol.
Katherine Waterston’s Tina Goldstein brings in as
much of a charm as her fellow co-star. Unlike Redmayne’s giddy-like character,
Tina is a much more bold character. She stands tall among other characters,
including Newt himself. She doesn’t loom over to the shadow of the leading
character, rather she stands above it.
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| Source: Screen Rant |
Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Collin Farrell, Ezra Miller, Allison Sudol.
Five years ago, we said goodbye to what we thought
was the last we’ve seen of the beloved Wizarding world. It certainly was the
last we’ve seen of Harry Potter and Co. (well, at least until Cursed Child). But author J.K Rowling is not done with her world quite
yet, and frankly; neither are we. With J.K Rowling on deck with the script and David Yates at the helm, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them opens their doors to a new era of Rowling's fantasy spectacle.
Fantastic
Beasts takes us decades before the story of The Boy Who
Lived had even begun. Newt Scamander, a brilliant Wizard and an avid
Magizoologist, travels to New York with a case that’s a lot bigger on the
inside than how it looks from the outside. Alas, what a magical but tricky
luggage it was, as it holds wondrous exotic creatures caught from Newt’s
various adventures. It’s not long until the luggage is unexpectedly opened,
which causes some of the creatures to escape and run amok around New York. As
Newt sets out to re-capture his creatures, a much bigger threat takes over,
plunging both Wizards and No-Majs (Muggles, as we all know them as) into high
stakes of danger.
As the film’s lead star, Eddie Redmayne brings
whirls of lively joy to Newt Scamander. He’s somewhat a reminiscent of an
eccentrically giddy schoolboy, though it’s not meant to seem like it’s a bad
thing. In fact, it’s one of the charms of Newt as a character. His fascination
and admiration towards his many creatures add in to the beneficial charms.
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| Source: Collider |
Dan Fogler as Jacob Kowalski might be seen as a
clueless No-Maj, but much like Newt himself, Jacob is fascinated with the world
that he’s come to seen. Though Jacob provides one of the many comic reliefs, he
becomes so much more than a No-Maj that becomes an audience-type character.
And Collin Farrell is really, really good in this
film. It’s been a while since Collin Farrell did a good movie where his
character brings in a keen eye of interest. Farrell’s character in Fantastic Beasts is quite intriguing and
enigmatic. I thought his arc was very interesting and I was hooked everytime he
was on screen.
Fantastic
Beasts’s greatest strength lies within its
characterizations. As the story sometimes goes a little haywire, Fantastic Beasts takes outmost care to
their characters. The film takes its time to pave way to these characters and
their arcs, which is immensely impressive for an introduction to a whole new
slate of characters in a familiar world.
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| Source: New York Daily News |
Both J.K Rowling and David Yates have managed to not only give layers to the characters, but also set up a new side of the Wizarding World. From the world inside Newt's case to the world outside of it, this era of the Wizarding World brims with so much appeal and captivation, it'd be foolish if you want to leave sooner. And for the Potterheads like me out there, there are some fun little Potter throwbacks and Easter Eggs that are interwoven in the story. Think of it like
a Marvel movie, but for the Potter universe.
However, the wonder stops there. Despite those aspects mentioned above, the story as a whole was what brought it down. There were some parts where the film felt as if it didn’t know what it was aiming for; or what kind of tone they were going for. It’s all fantasy and magic, of course; but sometimes the film slightly switches its tones and you wonder what it was that they were truly trying to aim for. And like I said before, this causes the story to sometimes go haywire as the film crams various different arcs and different plot points into the runtime; and this can be a problem to most films: cramming in so many plots and arcs that it disrupts the cohesiveness of the story.
However, the wonder stops there. Despite those aspects mentioned above, the story as a whole was what brought it down. There were some parts where the film felt as if it didn’t know what it was aiming for; or what kind of tone they were going for. It’s all fantasy and magic, of course; but sometimes the film slightly switches its tones and you wonder what it was that they were truly trying to aim for. And like I said before, this causes the story to sometimes go haywire as the film crams various different arcs and different plot points into the runtime; and this can be a problem to most films: cramming in so many plots and arcs that it disrupts the cohesiveness of the story.
Fantastic
Beasts and Where to Find Them as a whole is a plateful of charm and
magic. Above all others, Fantastic Beasts
manages to make it its own thing, putting on a fresh coat of paint on a somewhat
familiar canvas. On the other hand, its disappointment lies in the excecution of the story itself, not knowing where it wants to focus and what story it wants to tell. Fantastic Beasts may have the beasts, but it doesn't quite have that fantastic element that a franchise starter should have.
Stars: 3/5
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