"Fantastic Beasts" hard to enjoy for non Harry Potter-fans

Rating: 6/10 (27 November 2016)

"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" is the first instalment in a series of five films and takes place almost 70 years before the events of "Harry Potter". Although "Fantastic Beasts" owes its release to the massive success of the Harry Potter-films, it fails to capture their magic.
The beginning drones on as the film establishes too many sub-plots, which are partially irrelevant to the main plot, and introduces side characters which sound promising but are completely underused. For example, the whole plot line revolving around Senator Shaw has no impact whatsoever on the rest of the film and his character was only introduced to be killed. As much as I liked the idea of the New Salem Philantropic Society, their organisation didn't seem to pose a threat to the magical community at all. Apart from the Second Salemers, no one in New York seems to be at war with the magical community or even suspects their existence but the MACUSA still keeps worrying about a war with the "No-Majs".
The film only picks up its pace when Newt Scamander finally begins searching for the magical beasts that escaped from his suitcase, accompanied by the No-Maj Jakob Kowalski who is one of the most likable protagonists. I, as a Harry Potter-fan, almost wished that more beasts had escaped from Newt's suitcase as it was amazing seeing the creatures described in the book come to life on the big screen (even if the CGI wasn't that overwhelming) and how Newt interacted with them. The beasts are what the film ultimately lives on and fans will surely love to see how magic is used, as you get to learn so much more about a wizard's everyday life. Sadly, those aspects can only be seen in some scenes and are almost overshadowed by the mess that is the plot.
The reveal of Grindelwald (who is horribly, horribly miscast) in the end only adds to the pile of question that dazzle the thoughtful spectator.
Was Graves Grindelwald the whole time? If so, he must have worked in the MACUSA for a really long period of time (mind he's a Senior Auror!) and would have been unable to wreak havoc. In addition to that, did he only get into the MACUSA (and probably work there for several years) to find that Obscurial he had a vision of? On the other hand, why should Grindelwald have killed and taken over Graves' identity? Did he really need to be a renowned Auror to find that Obscurial? And if he killed Graves in the run time of the film, why is there absolutely no noticeable change in his behaviour and nothing happens to set up the reveal in the end? This is probably the reason why the end seemed far-fetched and out of context for me.
Moreover, what did Grindelwand even want the Obscurial for? He can't control it as not even the child that creates it can keep it under control.
Why did the MACUSA do nothing against the N.S.P.S. although they discovered that there are witches and wizards living amongst them?
In conclusion, the magic world presented in "Fantastic Beasts" is a great addition to the Harry Potter-Universe and fans will love to learn more about the usage of magic. The characters, Newt especially, are well-written and likable. But if you watch the film as a dedicated cineaste, you will discover that the film is far from perfect and needs a strong sequel to answer the questions this one posed.
The film is heavily burdened with too many plot-lines and trying to set up the sequels. The film's entertainment depends on the search for the fantastic beasts and I fear that (apart from that) you will not take a lot of pleasure in watching the film if you are not familiar with the magical world established in Harry Potter.