This Film is Magic

Rating: 10/10 (30 November 2016)

Spellbinding, enticing, in a word: Fantastic. Everyone remembers the first time they read/ saw Harry Potter. The first time you went to Hogwarts and were completely transported into an amazing new world. We all wish we could enter the world for the first time again, and with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, JK Rowling has given us what we wanted. An entry into a completely unexplored era of magic with all of it's twists and turns and beauty and disaster. I must commend JK Rowling on her screen writing debut. Falls nothing short of what you would expect from a Potter book. An intricately woven plot with many interesting characters all fighting their own battles, all while introducing us to a whole new world. First, let me praise the brilliant Eddie Redmayne. His character, Newt Scamander, is an outsider. He never felt quite at home with people, but when we see him with his beasts, that's what passion is. We as an audience can see and feel for his intimate relationship, fascination, and respect for these creatures. One subtle thing Eddie did was when talking to people, especially in serious scenes, he didn't make a lot of eye contact. He would look up for a second, then look back down to their shoulder. A perfect and realistic quirk that many people can relate to. The rest of the quartet are also magnificent in portraying their characters. All the technical teams that worked on this deserve a huge round of applause. Costumes from the 1920s that are intriguing and somehow magical, sets that immerse us in a different time, the props department, with their determination to perfect every detail certainly paid off, the animation, making book covers and newspapers come to life even when they are not the main focus, reminding us we are in a new world: one where magic is the norm. And, of course, the beasts. They are what make this film truly magical. They are unlike anything we've seen before and bring our childhood imaginations to life. I could go on for eternity about all the wonderful things about this movie and why any Potter fan, or anyone, should go see it, but I believe I've made my stance quite clear: This film is magic.