Definitive proof that the world of Harry Potter can live without Harry Potter

Rating: 6/10 (21 November 2016)

As a 20 year-old Brit who has grown up with Harry Potter and considers it an integral part of his childhood, I went into this film more than excited, ready to explore a new part of the wizarding world.
And Fantastic Beasts without a doubt delivers this; its whimsical, exciting and uplifting, embodied by Eddie Redmayne's perfect casting as magizoologist Newt Scamander. The remaining trio of main characters, particularly no-maj Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler) reinforce this, with enough humour and chemistry to see the film through. In this sense then, Fantastic Beasts is a perfect extension of Harry Potter's world, with plenty of references for fans of the series.
Where this film fails then is in the disparate nature of its narrative. The story is split into two; Newt's light-hearted escapade into New York to recapture some of the beasts that have escaped his suitcase, and then the parallel of single-minded Auror Percival Graves (Colin Farrell) in his attempts to capture some kind of force destroying New York. Graves' side of the story is far darker, containing elements of wizards and witches being hunted and the beating of children. Truthfully it was in the darker moments I enjoyed Fantastic Beasts the most; the big issue is that the two sides of the story are far too disparate in their tones, and the two never truly come together as a satisfying cohesive story. This is a problem compounded by David Yates' directing. With the Deathly Hallows he truly hit his stride, but Fantastic Beasts is a step back to the rigid, awkward and motionless days of the Order of the Phoenix and the Half-Blood Prince. Newt's story is constantly propelling forward, but this simply isn't reflected in the way its captured. Case in point are the scenes Kowalski sees magic for the first time.
In all; Fantastic Beasts never quite reaches the highs of Harry's adventures, and doesn't really satisfy as single film. It is however a truly joyous and enjoyable adventure, leaving a LOT to look forward to in future installments. You should certainly go out and watch it.