The world of wizards is back full of new thrills and adventure

Rating: 9/10 (6 December 2016)

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (I will call it FBWFT from now on, because SEVEN-WORDS TITLE!), directed by David Yates and written by J.K. Rowling is the 9th film of the Harry Potter universe and the first film of the new franchise. The story takes place in New York 70 years before Harry receives his Hogwarts letter and our protagonist is Newt Scamander. He has a suitcase where he carries a lot of fantastic beasts, which will accidentally escape causing many problems in New York and set in danger the secrecy of the magic world. I don't know about the 3D experience, but what I know is that the 2D is definitely lots of fun and everyone (even people unfamiliar with the 8 Harry Potter movies) will enjoy.
Rowling proves for one more time that her imagination is limitless and Yates proves that he knows well how to make it shine. Some people are concerned this is an attempt of her to make another billion. My answer to those comments is that I don't really think so, but I wouldn't care anyway! Let me explain by reviewing the movie. FBWFT does what no prequel/sequel/remake, which wants too much to succeed, ever did: It is a totally new story with no plot similarities to be found with the original movie ( the Harry Potter franchise in this case ). In contrast with the first H.P. movie, this one is more thrilling, because it dedicates less time to set up the world of the new franchise and more time to the actual story this movie wants to tell. Of course, there are some exposition-heavy scenes, but Rowling's world is just too beautiful to consider it a serious weakness. As I see, not everyone agrees on that, but I feel I nearly know anything about the American school of Magic or how American wizard community works but only a few things. What I feel I watched is Newt, Kowalski and Tina trying to protect New York from all those magic creatures wrecking havoc. That's why I don't think it's a money-grab attempt, because it doesn't feel like that. And why I wouldn't care? Because it's great, anyway! Every character is well-developed and likable for his/her own characteristics. Even Kowalski who, as a regular human, asks all those things we, the audience, need to know(exposition lever) still manages to remain likable thanks to the comic relief he offers and his not being useless as one would expect. Performances are convincing and generally great as expected from such a charismatic cast. Moving on the technical details, CGI is almost flawless and every creature is really beautiful. Same goes for cinematography and editing, which is masterfully used to create a sense of awe when needed, make the pace faster when things get dangerous or just let us enjoy wonderful images. Music score by James Newton Howard is superb and blends perfectly with every scene. (Still, no one is like John Williams, but you already knew that).
Any complaints? I was a little let down, because I expected to learn more things about the American school of magic, but this doesn't really qualify as a weakness, because this was just not the story J.K. Rowling wanted to tell and the movie's marketing never implied something like that. All in all, FBWFT is a prequel, which respects its audience by paying homage at some points to the H.P. movies, but without relying on your H.P. knowledge to be enjoyable(everyone can enjoy it), with great performances, great visual effects and a great story. If you are a fantasy-fan, DO NOT MISS THIS MOVIE! I still reserve the 10-stars rating for a movie that will far exceed my expectations and blow my mind, but still, no real complaints about Fantastic Beasts. 9/10