Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Eddie Redmayne | ... | Newt | |
Sam Redford | ... | Customs Official | |
Scott Goldman | ... | Customs Official (voice) | |
Tim Bentinck | ... | Witness (as Timothy Bentinck) | |
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Tristan Tait | ... | Reporter |
Colin Farrell | ... | Graves | |
Tom Clarke Hill | ... | Photographer 2 (as Tom Clarke-Hill) | |
Matthew Sim | ... | Photographer 1 | |
Katherine Waterston | ... | Tina | |
Samantha Morton | ... | Mary Lou | |
Dan Fogler | ... | Jacob Kowalski | |
Ezra Miller | ... | Credence Barebone | |
Faith Wood-Blagrove | ... | Modesty Barebone | |
Jenn Murray | ... | Chastity Barebone | |
Cory Peterson | ... | Bank Employee |
In mid-1920s New York, Newt Scamander, a British young activist wizard, arrives in the city, holding a mysterious leather suitcase that shelters diverse and magical creatures that exist among us. Amid an already fragile equilibrium of secrecy, and the increasing disasters ascribed to the dark wizard, Gellert Grindelwald, Newt's precious suitcase goes missing, and to make matters worse, several creatures manage to escape. Before long, this unforeseen complication catches Senior Auror Percival Graves' attention who targets Newt, against the backdrop of an invisible, devastating, and utterly unpredictable menace that still wreaks havoc on 5th Avenue. In the end, is there a hidden agenda behind Graves' intentions? Moreover, what will happen to the remaining fantastic beasts that are still on the loose? Written by Nick Riganas
It's OK, I suppose.
Good parts: Period costumes & sets were beautiful. Special effects were (mostly) very good, and the Fantastic Beasts were individually great fun.
So-so parts: The acting was only OK. Newt (Eddie Redmayne) in particular left me dissatisfied. Yes he's playing an introverted character, but I saw no reason for the bond he seemed to build with Tina. The MACUSA wizards & witches were extremely underdeveloped, including the President. Their hot-and-cold treatment of Tina for her interruptions made no sense to me either.
Poor: The editing seemed off to me, in a way I haven't noticed since The Chamber of Secrets. --- awkward pauses littered the film, robbing it of its momentum. Newt's interaction with some of the larger beasts didn't look realistic (e.g. his stroking the Thunderbird's neck). And I personally dislike FX-heavy movies where the Big Bad is some amorphous cloud (not as bad as Green Lantern, but pretty bad).
Final thought: why do so many large beasts have bird's heads? This seems to be a thing with Rowling ...