It's an OK setup for the future installments that will hopefully be better (especially if they're expanding from three to five..!). I don't think any of us expected it to be better than any of the Harry Potter movies and it definitely isn't. The animals were cool but it didn't have the same kind of charm and felt a bit muddled.

 

One thing I'm unsure about - was

Johnny Depp disguising himself as Colin Farrell for the entire movie or when did that happen

? :unsure:

I really didn't like it, it felt a bit of a mess and didn't seem to know what it was doing plot wise. One of the biggest disappointments of the year for me :(.

Watched it last night, great film but not coming close to the original Harry Potter movies, would be great if more came out (i.e. a sequel involving more Grindelwald)

Saw this in the cinema today! I loved it!

Favourite parts:

Strudel being made with magic

The part where Eddie tells Jacob Kowalski to come down into the suitcase using sign language, and him trying to get in was pretty funny

Most of the special effects

10.0

 

Favourites movies of each year from (2010-2016) [5 for each, except for 2010 (which has 4, because I don't remember any other fantastic movies I've seen from that year):

 

UPDATE: Found out that Book Thief got a UK release in 2014, so I'm moving it from 2013 to 2014 section

Films with a [*] symbol show that it was released in USA or a film festival the year before [usually November or December], but didn't come onto the big screens in the UK until the year after [usually January or February].

 

2010: Toy Story 3, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Despicable Me

2011: Horrible Bosses, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn, Hugo, Kung Fu Panda 2

2012: 21 Jump Street, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Ted, The Hunger Games, Paranorman

2013: Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, Django Unchained[*], Wreck-It Ralph[*], The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Monsters University

2014: The Grand Budapest Hotel, Boyhood, 22 Jump Street, Gone Girl, The Book Thief[*]

2015: Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Lobster, Inside Out, Whiplash[*]

2016: Fantastic Beats And Where To Find Them, Deadpool, The Danish Girl, The Hateful Eight [*], Zootropolis

Edited November 20, 20168 yr by DalekTurret32

Well, I absolutely loved this. I can't say I preferred it to any of the Harry Potter films (I think they felt a lot more magical as it was set in a magical school setting whereas here, the magic felt underground and hidden due to the nature of the film's setting) but it was still a huge amount of fun. Eddie Redmayne was a great leader and I loved all the fantastic beasts he brought along with him (I kind of want a Niffler :heart:), I hope his character has a prominent role in future films too rather than be sidelined for the Grindelwald storyline. I wasn't so keen on Katherine Waterston's character but I guess she was OK and she did grow on me as the film progressed too. Queenie and Jacob were too great supporting characters too and probably the most likeable in the whole film, a shame we probably won't see much more of the latter now he's been obliviated but I hope the former can pop up a bit more, she was very charming. I only really have to main gripes with it, one being

Johnny Depp

because he's usually really annoying in pretty much everything and I feel like he's going to be insufferable in the sequels, I would much rather just keep Colin Farrell who I think did a great job in this instalment. Also, the Credence black blob destroying the city was boring too, not only have we seen those sorts of visuals in every action ever, it's even more boring when you're watching a black cloud do it rather than an actual character :lol: Can't wait for a sequel now, hope we start hearing more about it the direction it's headed soon!

I don't know where to start with this.

 

That cameo. Ugh.

I don't know where to start with this.

 

That cameo. Ugh.

 

 

They need to recast that. Problematic.

had a nap in the middle during the beasts recapturing scenes, but overall a good 7/10. I liked the 4 new characters and it's a bit more for "grown-ups" than the Potter films (I preferred those as they got older and darker). The New York period setting is gorgeous, and Redmayne not quite as annoyingly overemoting it as he will given half a chance. My faves were the mind-reading sis and muggle, the beasts themselves were a bit meh.

The New York period setting is gorgeous.

Period New York was generic and hollow. Such a lazy setting. The whole wizard persecution trope was undeveloped and yet forced at the same time.

 

And the 'Fantastic Beasts' basically had nothing to do with the plot so it never felt very cohesive and yet the lore surrounding it was very half-baked given that the Harry Potter series actually had a proper source text.

 

This film was such a mess, and for the record I actually liked other money-grabbing overstayers like The Hobbit.

Saw this at the weekend. Really liked the plot and the characters, and definitely gave a bit more insight into the wizarding world.