Not Bad for Rowling's First Movie Screenplay

Rating: 9/10 (2 August 2017)

As a lifelong Harry Potter fan since 1997, I was pretty excited about getting some more movies about the Wizarding World. It was even cooler that the creator of Harry Potter herself was going to write the script for the first Fantastic Beasts movie. That made me even more excited about it. I did enjoy watching the movie a lot.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them takes place in the 1920's during the Prohibition. The movie is about Newt Scamander traveling to New York for his research of magical animals. During his trip, a No-Maj (Muggle) named Jacob Kowalski finds out about Newt and his magical creatures. While trying to re-captures Newt's animals, they have to find out what kind of creature is attacking the non-magical community with the help of Tina Goldstein and her Legilimens (magic's version of telepathy) sister, Queenie Goldstein.
The movie has a great cast. The best actors in the movie were Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander, Colin Farrell as Percival Graves, Dan Folger as Jacob Kowalski, and Ezra Miller as Credance Barebone. I enjoyed their characters and performances the most. I can identify with Newt as a character because I'm also a shy person who loves animals. Also, the supporting cast of characters were also great.
It was cool seeing more of the magical creatures of the Wizarding World than was shown in previous entries in the Harry Potter franchise. The animals were one of the best parts of the movie. Also, it was great seeing more of the magical community outside of the United Kingdom. I really enjoyed that and the 1920's setting.
There were moments in the movie where I had a hard time understanding what people were saying which wasn't helped with all the loud explosions going on in certain parts of the movie. Newt Scamander was the worst offender because there were times where he was mumbling and I couldn't understand him at all. Another thing I didn't like about the first Fantastic Beasts movie was the twist involving the main villain. Even though I heard about the twist beforehand, I still didn't care for it.
Despite its flaws, I still enjoyed the first entry of the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them spin-off movie series. The movie has a really good cast. The characters are enjoyable. It was great going back to the Wizarding World that I knew and loved for the past twenty years. JK Rowling did a pretty good job for her very first movie screenplay. Hope she keeps it up for the other Fantastic Beast movies. Can't wait for the next entry in this Harry Potter movie spin-off series.