I had a lot of problems with previous movie. Like... A LOT. It was extremely stylish with all those coats, hats, haircuts, 1926 New York and other stuff that used to make the movie look so charming. Unfortunately, the entire thing was ultimately one big Doctor Who rip-off. Wands were a nice replacement to the sonic screwdriver, Newt Scamander looked and acted almost exactly like the 11th Doctor (Matt Smith), while his briefcase (which was bigger on the inside) was pretty much the copy of TARDIS. And to make things worse, the plot was pretty meh. Characters were extremely likeable, but there was no big drama and no big plot twists. Just some cute love stories and a funny guy with briefcase full of "fantastic beasts". Which felt pretty nice in 3D on the big screen, but at home... those were not enough to make you want to re-watch the movie again and again like the old Potter movies did. Personally, I expected the same from sequel. I was wrong.
Fantastic Beasts 2 turned out to be a huge improvement over the first movie. And not only because the atmosphere is totally different here. Fantastic Beasts 2 feels more like the late Potter movies. With dark colors and depressive mood, but that's just the tone. What makes it better for real is the fact that it is not afraid to play with the lore and give us a lot of plot twists. I mean, what made the Potter stories so charming was 100% British atmosphere of mystery. Where the simple teacher was able to turn out to be a villain, while the villain... well, you know the story better than I do, I'm sure of it. Anyway, the first Fantastic Beasts, aside from other things, missed exactly that. And Fantastic Beasts 2 brings it all back. Even though most of the movie will take place in France, that exact feeling of British mysteries is back and that alone is enough for me to like the movie. Can't say that it gets close enough to Harry Potter's plot twists, but... it's sure a step into the right direction.
Drama is also back. Remember Cedric Diggory and that "Noooooooo!" moment from the Goblet of Fire? Fantastic Beasts 2 has something very close to it. It was even able to surprise me at one point. The cost was the fact that a certain character feels pretty strange now, since it's hard to see the entire motivation, but still, it was a very interesting move. It's not that simple, though, since the entire plot is pretty much a bunch of twists and revelations, so, for some people it may feel like there's lack of something bigger. Like... you know, the main plot. For example, Goblet of Fire had some twists and revelations too, but there was a Goblet of Fire to play the leading role. Here... it's a lot like Goblet of Fire without Goblet of Fire. If you know what I mean. A lot of twists, a lot of big revelations, a lot of lore, but kind of not enough main story to give all that a proper form. Not the biggest problem out there, at least in my opinion, but still, it's a problem.
Thankfully, Fantastic Beasts 2 stepped away from being Doctor Who rip-off. All elements are still there, but now they're just that - the elements. It's not like we have Doctor Newt with his Sonic Wand, TARDIS briefcase and a bunch of companions anymore. Fantastic Beasts 2 feels more like Harry Potter and that's a good thing. Well, at least for majority of viewers. For die hard Harry Potter fans... there's a lot of very confusing things. Fantastic Beasts 2 breaks the old lore in many places and in many places it makes a lot of weird mistakes. For example, in this movie we'll see character who wasn't even supposed to be born yet. How? Why? Is it actually a relative? Why no proper explanation? Those who just watched the movies won't even notice all that, but die hard fans of the source material may feel a bit confused. And still, I feel that it was all worth it. Just because the movie feels more interesting thanks to all that.
And it looks beautiful too. It shows us France, but not in a mainstream way. I mean, most of the movies just show us the Eiffel Tower, while this one actually discovers something more interesting and uses it for its purposes. Beasts still look amazing, 3D is better than before, etc, etc, etc. Even the soundtrack knows exactly how to play with our hearts.
So... yeah, Fantastic Beasts 2 is better than the first movie. In every place possible. As a casual viewer, I'm glad that Harry Potter's world is bigger now and got its old charm back at the same exact time. Sure, it's still not good ol' Harry and sure, hardcore fans may be confused here and there, but... it's a charming and interesting movie for those who like the setting. What else we may ask for?
Fantastic Beasts 2 turned out to be a huge improvement over the first movie. And not only because the atmosphere is totally different here. Fantastic Beasts 2 feels more like the late Potter movies. With dark colors and depressive mood, but that's just the tone. What makes it better for real is the fact that it is not afraid to play with the lore and give us a lot of plot twists. I mean, what made the Potter stories so charming was 100% British atmosphere of mystery. Where the simple teacher was able to turn out to be a villain, while the villain... well, you know the story better than I do, I'm sure of it. Anyway, the first Fantastic Beasts, aside from other things, missed exactly that. And Fantastic Beasts 2 brings it all back. Even though most of the movie will take place in France, that exact feeling of British mysteries is back and that alone is enough for me to like the movie. Can't say that it gets close enough to Harry Potter's plot twists, but... it's sure a step into the right direction.
Drama is also back. Remember Cedric Diggory and that "Noooooooo!" moment from the Goblet of Fire? Fantastic Beasts 2 has something very close to it. It was even able to surprise me at one point. The cost was the fact that a certain character feels pretty strange now, since it's hard to see the entire motivation, but still, it was a very interesting move. It's not that simple, though, since the entire plot is pretty much a bunch of twists and revelations, so, for some people it may feel like there's lack of something bigger. Like... you know, the main plot. For example, Goblet of Fire had some twists and revelations too, but there was a Goblet of Fire to play the leading role. Here... it's a lot like Goblet of Fire without Goblet of Fire. If you know what I mean. A lot of twists, a lot of big revelations, a lot of lore, but kind of not enough main story to give all that a proper form. Not the biggest problem out there, at least in my opinion, but still, it's a problem.
Thankfully, Fantastic Beasts 2 stepped away from being Doctor Who rip-off. All elements are still there, but now they're just that - the elements. It's not like we have Doctor Newt with his Sonic Wand, TARDIS briefcase and a bunch of companions anymore. Fantastic Beasts 2 feels more like Harry Potter and that's a good thing. Well, at least for majority of viewers. For die hard Harry Potter fans... there's a lot of very confusing things. Fantastic Beasts 2 breaks the old lore in many places and in many places it makes a lot of weird mistakes. For example, in this movie we'll see character who wasn't even supposed to be born yet. How? Why? Is it actually a relative? Why no proper explanation? Those who just watched the movies won't even notice all that, but die hard fans of the source material may feel a bit confused. And still, I feel that it was all worth it. Just because the movie feels more interesting thanks to all that.
And it looks beautiful too. It shows us France, but not in a mainstream way. I mean, most of the movies just show us the Eiffel Tower, while this one actually discovers something more interesting and uses it for its purposes. Beasts still look amazing, 3D is better than before, etc, etc, etc. Even the soundtrack knows exactly how to play with our hearts.
So... yeah, Fantastic Beasts 2 is better than the first movie. In every place possible. As a casual viewer, I'm glad that Harry Potter's world is bigger now and got its old charm back at the same exact time. Sure, it's still not good ol' Harry and sure, hardcore fans may be confused here and there, but... it's a charming and interesting movie for those who like the setting. What else we may ask for?