A vehicle to introduce an American version of Hogwarts and Harry Potter

Rating: Null/10 (18 November 2016)

This film tells the story of an English wizard who travels to New York with a suitcase full of magical creatures. The creatures get loose, and he has to capture all of them back before they create citywide panic and destruction.
I was looking forward to "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" a lot. After watching it, I have to say I am mildly disappointed. Though the visuals are great, the story is rather weak. The beasts are not portrayed to be fantastic at all. They merely look scary, fly around and be aggressive. I am not sure how they are fantastic, if anything they are scary especially to young children.
The film is not about where to find the beasts either. It is about capturing them, instead of finding them in the wild. The action is sparse and muted, and there is little adventure in the story. It does not grip me or captivate me. Eddie Redmayne's portrayal to me is the most disappointing, because he is made to look like a - ahem - innocent and mischievous character, when he could look fierce and powerful. His lack of eye contact, and a lack of confidence in general makes me difficult to associate him as the protagonist.
To be honest, "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" is merely a vehicle to reconstruct the hugely successful "Harry Potter" series, set in the USA with an alternate universe of wizards. It feels more like a cash cow, milking off the success of the much better "Harry Potter" series.