Loved it. But......

Rating: 8/10 (1 December 2016)

I love Harry Potter. I've read all the books, seen all the movies, been to Alnwick but yet to visit a theme park. It seemed to me that JKR began to write by the yard with the books, and in due course the movies, becoming flabby, overblown, overlong and lacking direction. But don't get me wrong - I'm still a fan. With the advent of Fantastic Beasts came the opportunity to right a few wrongs and start afresh but no, the same problems persist, along with a few new ones. The plot of Fantastic Beasts is obscure and often difficult to fathom and retain. If the Director lacks direction, then pity the poor audience. Having read the HP books prior to seeing the movies I had some idea of what was supposed to be going on, but not in this case. JKR is rightly an icon but that's not to say that everything she does is great. And this is not great. Most of the innumerable characters add nothing but confusion to the picture and it speaks volumes that the most endearing character is a mute CGI mole-like creature. There'll probably be a spin-off. The movie is saved through it's 3D and CGI. It is fabulous. Breathtaking. Dare I say it before someone else does? -spellbinding. The best ever. But shouldn't it be more than this? I was lucky enough to have seen this in Imax 3D and thoroughly enjoyed the experience but I very much doubt that watching in a lesser format would be half as impressive. So - what's the bottom line? Is it worth seeing? The answer is a definite Yes, though not in 2D. And JKR? Still love you but please listen to your critics and do better. Please.