‘FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE SECRETS OF DUMBLEDORE’ Review | Flawed Sequel But An Improvement Nonetheless

After four years since the release of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald and the controversies that have mired the Wizarding World franchise, we finally get to see the third installment of the series in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. While it may not be the most spellbinding inclusion into the wizarding universe, it does add more to the advancement of the saga than the previously less-than-stellar sequel.

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is directed by Wizarding World veteran David Yates and co-written by J.K. Rowling and long-time Harry Potter screenwriter Steve Kloves. Starring an ensemble cast that includes Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law, Ezra Miller, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Callum Turner, Jessica Williams, Katherine Waterston, and Mads Mikkelsen, the film follows Professor Albus Dumbledore’s (Law) story much more closely this time around as he tries to outmaneuver the powerful Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Mikkelsen). We get more context into Dumbledore’s family history and past that was never really clear in prior Wizarding World films.

However, the main plot of the film focuses on Dumbledore as he assembles a unique team of wizards, witches, and even a brave Muggle baker on a dangerous mission as they encounter Grindelwald’s growing legion of followers as well as new and familiar beasts that prove to be crucial in their battle against this looming evil.

The film takes us right into Kweilin, China, as Newt Scamander (Redmayne) tries to locate and help a Qilin give birth, a rare magical creature that can see into one’s soul as well as the future. Grindelwald’s acolytes, led by Credence Barebone (Miller), are not too far behind tracking Newt and the creature. They end up attacking and killing the mother while kidnapping the newborn so Grindelwald can harness its ability of precognition. Unbeknownst to them, however, the Qilin birthed twins, the younger of which Newt is able to save.

Unable to fight Grindelwald due to a blood pact revealed in the previous film, Dumbledore recruits Newt, his brother Theseus (Turner), American witch Eulalie “Lally” Hicks (Williams), Senegalese-French wizard Yusuf Kama (William Nadylam), and American No-Maj Jacob Kowalski (Fogler) to thwart Grindelwald’s plan for world domination. Additionally, due to Grindelwald’s ability of precognition, the only way Dumbledore’s team can outflank him is to make seemingly random actions to confound Grindelwald.

What follows is a much more fun, magical adventure than in the previous films with political intrigue that one could argue rivals our current state of world affairs. The story is a bit sharper and even reminiscent of earlier Harry Potter films which can be attributed to Kloves returning to write for this film. His touch was sorely missed in the previous two films.

Jude Law has clearly cemented himself as the defacto younger version of Dumbledore; Grindelwald on the other hand, like the current franchise, has been uneven and is now on his third incarnation of the character. The third time’s a charm though, right? Well, fret not, Mads Mikkelsen is brilliant as Grindelwald and honestly should have been there since the beginning. There is now a gravitas to the villain that only someone of Mikkelsen’s caliber can harness while also sparking a much-needed magnetism with Law’s Dumbledore in all their interactions within the film.