Mediocre Beasts and Where To Find Them

Rating: 5/10 (24 November 2016)

It's been nearly half a decade since Pottheads got their last fix from the silver screen and for many a JK-Junkie out there, Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them was the most eagerly anticipated film of 2016. Fantastic Beasts offers an interesting mix of familiarity and new beginnings as the Potterverse welcomes back David Yeats, director of the previous 4 Harry Potter installments, and sees J.K Rowling's maiden voyage as a screenwriter. I've always been a fan of the Potter films, save for my hatred of Deathly Hallows:Part 1, and I was certainly looking forward to seeing what else Rowling had to offer but this films serves as more of an appetiser rather than a main course. Full of great effects and solid performances from Redmayne and Fogler, the film offers very little in terms of story, which, when considering this was penned by one of the most successful authors of all time, is largely disappointing. Set in a beautifully designed 1920's New York, clearly no expense was spared for the effects budget as Fantastic Beasts does exactly what it says on the tin by offering the audience a sample of some beautifully imaginative creatures. Unfortunately this is a case of style over substance as by the end of the film the beasts are playing second fiddle to a dim-witted auror (Katherine Waterston)and the American Ministry of Magic subplot. An interesting point to note is some of the darker tones that Rowling is attempting to examine this time round. Child abuse, albeit a theme in previous Potter films, and capital punishment spring to mind but there is certain, uncomfortable and perhaps perverted atmosphere between Graves (Farrell) and Credence Barebone (Miller) that I found odd. This darker tone, not too dissimilar from the later Potter films, was an intriguing element in the film and I'm interested in whether or not these will be explored in the fore-coming sequels. On a broader scale, Fantastic Beasts is similar to Warcraft(2016), by way of an underwhelming film that will no doubt produce several offspring. The film markets itself on the idea of a new story set in a familiar universe but, under it's thin layer of narrative, lies the all too familiar shell of a money-hungry franchise... But hey! that's Hollywood folks, so buy your overpriced popcorn, sit back, relax and let this wave of mediocrity wash over you