Almost brilliant....

Rating: 9/10 (21 November 2016)

To summarize that is how I would have loved the last few Potter movies in many ways. For me the best part was the brilliant attention to magical details, like households doing themselves, moving picture, etc. which I loved in first few Potter movies and was lost towards the end.
The creatures were created very interesting, different and given character, foremost Ron Perlman as Gnarlak and little Picket. From the actors/actresses I felt four did standing out. Eddie Redmayne and Dan Fogler, Samantha Morton (sadistic, fanatic Mary Lou), as well as Alison Sudol (Tina's sister) did all a great job. However, the one who stood out the most for me was Ezra Miller as Credence, a trouble young man. Unfortunately some we do not see again. Though, it's a magical world, so..... The above were all greatly portrayed and developed characters. The slight sad part was that most other characters were rather flat and missed the same attention to detail as shown for the rest of the movie. Jon Voight as Media mogul is just one example. Hope they use this fine actor better in the next installments. I also hope they develop the character of Tina, Newt's ally, as I found her very uninteresting, but it might have been just the flat acting.
One great part must be mentioned, which is the music. James Newton Howard did a great job hopefully securing his ninth Oscar nomination and maybe the little stature itself. It wouldn't surprise me.
So far I can't warm up to Johnny Depp as Gellert Grindelwald, though he is a good actor, as I would have expected some younger actor for role. However, as always with JD, it can be a great portrayal or too comical. Let's see how sinister he can be.
To summarize, highly enjoyable movie from the magical world of J.K Rowling, made me hungry for more. Worth seeing it a second time.