Fantastic Beasts
2022-Apr-13, Wednesday 10:05 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
summeryewberryI lost a beloved pet this week, and in an effort to stop bursting into tears at inopportune moments, I took myself to the cinema. Last week I wasn't sure if I was even going to see Fantastic Beasts 3: The Secrets of Dumbledore in the cinema or wait for streaming, but I needed to get my mind off things, so...
Turns out I quite enjoyed it, and it's a movie I'm still thinking about.
Some spoilers below:
Firstly, the magical animals are plenty and play a large role all through the movie, so if you're looking for the fantastic beasts themselves, this movie has more than the last one at least. There's both new and old magical animals, and they're all interesting. Pickett the Bowtruckle is still my favourite, but I know my sister is going to love Newt scolding the Nifflers.
The action scenes are great, overall. Two in particular (the formal dinner, and the suitcases chases through Bhutan) showcase some great magical spells and skills, and they work incredibly well.
I spent too much time this movie counting suitcases (Bunty suggested six copies, so seven suitcases in total; there were only five used in the final scene). So I was fully expecting the qilin to be safe and hidden at Hogwarts the whole time. More fool me. LOL
I do like the little details in the background of scenes or off to the side: something happening on the side, or someone doing interesting magic. Those were always some of my favourite parts of the Fantastic Beasts movies, and that's remained the same.
Seeing a young Aberforth was great. I've always liked Aberforth - grumpy old coot - so it's cool to see him as a somewhat younger man.
Now, Mads Mikkelsen is fantastic as Grindelwald! He and Jude Law nail the tension and history between their characters. And they sell it completely: you can see what they saw in each other, and maybe still do. I'm so glad. Johnny Depp was definitely the wrong choice for Grindelwald and I'm glad now that he's been replaced, now that I've seen what Mads Mikkelsen can do with the role! Also yes to the accent! As a German-speaker, I feel like Danish is close enough to German, so hey, it works for me.
There's even native German-speakers in the movie pronouncing Grindelwald properly! Yay!
There is nothing ambiguous about the relationship between Dumbledore and Grindelwald. It's somewhat open to interpretation in the Harry Potter books, but not here. Dumbledore openly says things like: "the summer Gellert and I fell in love." There's no question about their relationship in this movie. Someone else wrote in their review: "Their love is at the forefront. It's not platonic, it's not chaste. There is no kiss, but there is an intensity and in some occasions elegantly conveyed sensuality," and I agree completely.
Jacob is still my favourite character. He's just so sweet and genuine, and so very brave. Dan Fogler is amazing in every one of these movies.
Speaking of favourite characters, Eulalie ("Lally") is my newest favourite. She is a hell of a schemer and fighter, damn. I would love to see more of her if there are any further movies.
I'm still working out what role Yusuf Kama played in "the plan" by going to see Grindelwald. Was his mission to be tested? It wouldn't be out of character for Dumbledore to send someone into a high-stakes position to test them, just based on faith that they would eventually pass that test and come through for him - *cough*Harry*cough* - but I think Yusuf's role is very open to interpretation. I'll keep thinking on it.
And on whose side was the outgoing Supreme Mugwump, Anton Vogel? He tells his fellow officials that Grindelwald will lose the election, and agrees to re-introduce the qilin into proceedings. Did he think the qilin would discount Grindelwald? Or did he know more and lie to his companions? Did he know the qilin had been tampered with? Another character that's worth thinking about more.
As for why the qilin picked Albus Dumbledore, imperfect as he is? I interpret that as being because Dumbledore loves and believes in people. He always has faith in the best of people, and that hope is never lost. I'd call him a bit of a humanist and an optimistic people-friend.
On another note, there's some utterly beautiful scenery in this movie, and some genuinely stunning shots. It's beautiful to look at.
I do think the ending is a potential series end. The story's not over, but it has a solid conclusion that could work as a series conclusion, just in case no further movies are made. It wraps things up nicely, which is always my favourite type of ending.
I enjoyed it. It won't be for everyone, but then, no movie is, and it maintains the slower pace of the previous Fantastic Beasts movies in contrast to the Harry Potter series. I think it's worth seeing just for Mads Mikkelsen, and I do think it's building up to a darker, more dangerous time, where all the characters will be under much more pressure if there are subsequent movies.
I think I would like to see more, and I kind of want to rewatch this one again, just to see what I missed the first time.
Turns out I quite enjoyed it, and it's a movie I'm still thinking about.
Some spoilers below:
Firstly, the magical animals are plenty and play a large role all through the movie, so if you're looking for the fantastic beasts themselves, this movie has more than the last one at least. There's both new and old magical animals, and they're all interesting. Pickett the Bowtruckle is still my favourite, but I know my sister is going to love Newt scolding the Nifflers.
The action scenes are great, overall. Two in particular (the formal dinner, and the suitcases chases through Bhutan) showcase some great magical spells and skills, and they work incredibly well.
I spent too much time this movie counting suitcases (Bunty suggested six copies, so seven suitcases in total; there were only five used in the final scene). So I was fully expecting the qilin to be safe and hidden at Hogwarts the whole time. More fool me. LOL
I do like the little details in the background of scenes or off to the side: something happening on the side, or someone doing interesting magic. Those were always some of my favourite parts of the Fantastic Beasts movies, and that's remained the same.
Seeing a young Aberforth was great. I've always liked Aberforth - grumpy old coot - so it's cool to see him as a somewhat younger man.
Now, Mads Mikkelsen is fantastic as Grindelwald! He and Jude Law nail the tension and history between their characters. And they sell it completely: you can see what they saw in each other, and maybe still do. I'm so glad. Johnny Depp was definitely the wrong choice for Grindelwald and I'm glad now that he's been replaced, now that I've seen what Mads Mikkelsen can do with the role! Also yes to the accent! As a German-speaker, I feel like Danish is close enough to German, so hey, it works for me.
There's even native German-speakers in the movie pronouncing Grindelwald properly! Yay!
There is nothing ambiguous about the relationship between Dumbledore and Grindelwald. It's somewhat open to interpretation in the Harry Potter books, but not here. Dumbledore openly says things like: "the summer Gellert and I fell in love." There's no question about their relationship in this movie. Someone else wrote in their review: "Their love is at the forefront. It's not platonic, it's not chaste. There is no kiss, but there is an intensity and in some occasions elegantly conveyed sensuality," and I agree completely.
Jacob is still my favourite character. He's just so sweet and genuine, and so very brave. Dan Fogler is amazing in every one of these movies.
Speaking of favourite characters, Eulalie ("Lally") is my newest favourite. She is a hell of a schemer and fighter, damn. I would love to see more of her if there are any further movies.
I'm still working out what role Yusuf Kama played in "the plan" by going to see Grindelwald. Was his mission to be tested? It wouldn't be out of character for Dumbledore to send someone into a high-stakes position to test them, just based on faith that they would eventually pass that test and come through for him - *cough*Harry*cough* - but I think Yusuf's role is very open to interpretation. I'll keep thinking on it.
And on whose side was the outgoing Supreme Mugwump, Anton Vogel? He tells his fellow officials that Grindelwald will lose the election, and agrees to re-introduce the qilin into proceedings. Did he think the qilin would discount Grindelwald? Or did he know more and lie to his companions? Did he know the qilin had been tampered with? Another character that's worth thinking about more.
As for why the qilin picked Albus Dumbledore, imperfect as he is? I interpret that as being because Dumbledore loves and believes in people. He always has faith in the best of people, and that hope is never lost. I'd call him a bit of a humanist and an optimistic people-friend.
On another note, there's some utterly beautiful scenery in this movie, and some genuinely stunning shots. It's beautiful to look at.
I do think the ending is a potential series end. The story's not over, but it has a solid conclusion that could work as a series conclusion, just in case no further movies are made. It wraps things up nicely, which is always my favourite type of ending.
I enjoyed it. It won't be for everyone, but then, no movie is, and it maintains the slower pace of the previous Fantastic Beasts movies in contrast to the Harry Potter series. I think it's worth seeing just for Mads Mikkelsen, and I do think it's building up to a darker, more dangerous time, where all the characters will be under much more pressure if there are subsequent movies.
I think I would like to see more, and I kind of want to rewatch this one again, just to see what I missed the first time.
