pre potter documenting a global search for beasts and magic hidden in plain sight an essential guidebook from a- z on where to find all of them

Rating: 9/10 (30 November 2016)

I saw this in the cinema an its worth the price of the tickets as newt friend is a slimy beast of robbing everything his name is niffler cute but cunning, as the story the 1920 new York setting and twist and cameo the film doesn't feel 2hrs13mins and its mostly adult went to see this its for Harry potter fans too Seventy years before Harry Potter was given accommodation under the stairs, wizard Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) lands in New York in order to make a trip to Arizona. Not one to waste a trip, Newt is carrying with him a suitcase full of magical beasts which have been almost entirely outlawed in the US. The UK and US wizarding communities have very different ways of seeing things believe it or not, and sometimes to the extreme. Auror Tina Goldstein soon apprehends him after an incident at the bank sees him losing track of the beasts and his briefcase is a vast safari park for endangered species . Accompanied by normal human being Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler) they now must track them down in the hustle and bustle of New York City. Complicating matters are a spate of murders and environmental disasters being attributed to the magical community. At risk of discovery from a group known as the New Salemites, Percival Graves (Colin Farrell) and the Magical Congress of the USA must now find Newt and the one behind the disturbances.
As you can see, the film that has to start a new franchise has a lot packed into it. Fantastic Beasts is not a prequel to the Harry Potter franchise. It is very much a spin off set within the same wizarding universe. The rules of the world are generally the same but all the characters are new and interesting. It does falter in some parts by making reference to characters from the Harry Potter books a bit too much and expecting a slight bit more knowledge of the subject material that can really be reasonable. I did have to spend a few minutes after the film googling character names to figure out what was being referenced.
Everyone puts on a great performance across the board with Ezra Miller being the unexpected highlight as a young member of the New Salemites. Arguably the most impressive feature of Fantastic Beasts is how dark they were willing to go with some of the content. I'm admittedly a sucker for whenever a fantasy or family film is willing to be somewhat realistic with its plot and avoid the fairy-tale tropes. The New Salemites plot thread is bound to have some of the younger viewers watching between their fingers but provides a really interesting side to the wizarding world for anyone older.
Whether or not you will find the same enjoyment that I did in Fantastic Beasts depends a lot on how you feel about the Harry Potter series. I don't think it does enough to stand on its own to anyone who hasn't seen the other films, nor will it change the minds of anyone who rolls their eyes at the series. From the opening Warner Bros logo with the Harry Potter theme lightly sprinkled in, to the flick of the wands and the lore of it all, I had a smile on my face like I was back watching the first movie again. In the end it was just really fun to get absorbed in a brand new story in an existing universe where we don't know what's going to happen for once. If they could have spent a bit more time developing the villain instead of relying on previous Harry Potter knowledge it would have gotten full marks, but for now it's well worth a watch