Well, I suppose this is the best film in the Fantastic Beasts series… but it does so at the expense of the first two films. And pretty much at the expense of all the wonder and fun of the Harry Potter series as well. In fact, by this point in the story, you can tell they have decided to not be whatever it was they planned this series to be. It should be renamed from Fantastic Beasts to Thinly Veiled Allegory (and Where to Profit From Them).

The new film is basically the all singing, all dancing Albus Dumbledore show now. Dumbledore and his ex Grindelwald (now randomly played by Mads Mikkelsen) are in a struggle over the political leadership of the Wizarding World. Dumbledore picks an assortment of characters from the previous movies to help him something something voting something something elections.

This is a fairly long movie that is not helped at all by having a dour, glum plot that has very little zip. Very little pep. It’s got lead boots on and clomps through the plot. The few times it actually remembers it’s a “Fantastic Beasts” movie could largely be cut from the film. But at least it’s… interesting? Kinda? Arguably. Or at least its a consistent story and not an utter mess of plot and characters and subplots like the second (and even the first) film.

JK Rowling is credited as co-screenwriter on this one… the dude who wrote the Harry Potter screenplays is the other writer. It was my understanding that Rowling demanded and received full screenwriter credit the first two films but I bet the gauntlet was thrown and the studio insisted on some help. The new screenwriter doesn’t bring the Harry Potter magic back but at least keeps the random subplots and nonsense surprises to a minimum.

That said though, the movie still needs to shovel in as many – but not all – characters from the first two films and, like in those films, has a hard time justifying their presence. Eddie Redmayne (Newt Scamander) is once again relegated to glorified extra… but at least he’s the only source of anything remotely related to whimsy and even humor. But he’s mainly stuck in a random jailbreak plot they created for this movie and then resolved just as quick. A subplot that could have been cut completely.

No, this is Jude Law’s Dumbledore show and maybe that’s what the series should have been all along. Just be the prequel they’ve decided this series is now. He’s fine. He does the job. But his character’s importance feels unjustified (outside his relevance to the Harry Potter series). But we’re pretending this is his series now so, if you go with it, that’s something to hang the movie on.

He’s joined by Mads Mikkelsen who is the third person to play Grindelwald. He makes the bigger impression and since this film is now going for pointed political allegory, they needed someone who could justify anyone voting for him (Johnny Depp was too creepy for the plotline of this film). I’m not sure he’s all that scary or threatening when his game is to convince people (and a particularly animal) to vote for him.

Ezra Miller is back… but they seemed to have forgotten what his character was meant to do. just as much as I did, I suppose. He doesn’t make much of an impression other than looking like Snape’s long lost son (which he is not, so what up with the hairdo, my dude?).

And some of the other characters are back and others are missing (only to show up in random scenes and vanish again). Too many characters servicing a plot they were never supposed to be part of… but they gotta find something for the actors to do.

Anyhow, the film is practically whimsy-less and its final act is a low energy, dour kind of stand-off over the politics of the wizard world and I have no idea who this movie is for. As an adult human being, I found it kind of vaguely interesting in that it at least had a point and someone had put some thought into the premise.

This movie kind of works for what it’s trying to be, but I’m not sure how exciting or thrilling that’s going to be for most people. I’m sure kids are going to be bored out of their minds except for the few moments of magical beasts stuff. As a movie about politics and acting as political allegory, it’s a decent watch… well, for at least half the audience anyway.

Score: 72