This is the first offering in the Harry Potter universe that
does not feature said wizard boy, but it definitely feels Potteresque.
We are introduced to Newt Scamander, played convincingly by Eddie Redmayne, who arrives in New York with a suitcase full of
strange creatures. A mix up occurs, creatures escape and inevitably chaos
ensues. Cue a Potter world version of Pokemon (gotta catch ‘em all) with a side
of magical murders and mistreated orphaned kids a la Annie, only
creepier and with no music. Oh, and the establishment trying to arrest/kill our
main character and his merry band of sidekicks.
This movie is good fun if you don’t think too hard about
things (like why Newt had to travel by ship and go through customs if he can
just teleport himself around by wizardry). The animals are great, fantastical,
in fact, and I can’t imagine how much fun the cast must have had throwing
themselves around in front of a green screen. Some of the beasts even have
personalities of their own and are characters in their own right.
The friendship that develops between Newt and Jacob
Kowalski, a muggle (or no-maj) who just happens to be caught up in all the
madness, is rather cute, and so is the romance between Kowalski and Queenie, a
rather fetching mind-reading witch, who reminds me a bit of Marilyn Monroe. (The rotund Kowalski definitely punches
above his weight and it’s cute because this would never happen in real life…)
Eddie Redmayne's Newt appears a bit nervous and shy, not terribly social and seems to get along with his fantastic beasts a lot better than he does with humans, magical or not. Totally understandable, because all animals are amazing and people, in general, suck. I'm so with Newt.
Anyway, a solid 8/10 for this one. Loved the characters and
the CGI beasts and Redmayne seems perfectly cast as the perhaps slightly autistic Newt.
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