No charm, no character, no story...just CGI

Rating: 3/10 (11 January 2019)

FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM is the latest instalment in the cash cow HARRY POTTER franchise and a total disappointment as a movie. I didn't expect much when I saw that artificial director David Yates, responsible for the shallowest movies in the Harry Potter film series as well as the awful LEGEND OF TARZAN, was at the helm, but Rowling's first-ever script promised something; it turns out she's a far worse scriptwriter than she is a novelist.
This plays out as a prequel to Potter, with Eddie Redmayne - adopting a single gormless expression of wonder from beginning to end - on the hunt for various escaping magical creatures in 1920s New York. There's no plot at all, just endless chase scenes involving poorly animated CGI beasties, so the supporting cast have nothing to do expect add perfunctory romance/comedy/drama, none of which works. The CGI is blatant and used to drive the narrative, which it can't do, so by the time of the umpteenth magical battle you simply don't care. And they're making another four of these? Give me strength!