Let’s hope that the prospective next two helpings can unravel whether it’s Newt’s beast-fuelled journey or Dumbledore’s quest with which we’re hitching a ride.Where to Watch 'Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore' Onlineĭumbledore joins forces with magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) to lead a team of wizards, witches and a muggle (Dan Fogler) as they clash with a legion of Grindelwald followers.

But despite the well-honed wizarding credentials of Yates and co-scripters Steve Kloves and Rowling, the series still can’t seem to settle on a hero. There’s also a momentous family-movie milestone included here that deserves genuine celebration. Rowling’s promise for this movie, and it’s great to finally see satisfying plot progress as orphan Credence’s (Ezra Miller) piercing origin story, and one long-running romance, wrap up with real heart.

The street-shaking CGI-crammed action showdowns are similarly pared back, though there’s a nifty hold-your-breath, Indiana Jones-style prison cavern escape that shows off Newt’s magizoological prowess. Bar the plot-central Qilin (an enchanting kind of dragon-Bambi truth-seeker), and cute help from old faves Pickett and the Niffler, the beasts take a backseat. But the film also disappointingly dials down the visual wonder and the animal set-pieces. Granted, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore makes its own powerful, distinctive Berlin-set parallels between Grindelwald’s Muggle-crushing manifesto and the Nazis’ rise to power. Eddie Redmayne’s twitchy Newt now resembles a proxy Harry Potter, repeatedly sent by Dumbledore to fight a world-threatening villain. But the team-tackles-worst-wizard storyline is starting to feel over-familiar, and not just from 2018’s Crimes of Grindelwald. Whether rabble-rousing among German wizards, or being coolly barbaric with beasts, Mads Mikkelsen brings a chilling, understated ruthlessness (and a hint of Hannibal) to Grindelwald, becoming the perfect successor to Johnny Depp’s white-haired whisperer. Unable to fight his former friend because of a blood charm, Dumbledore playfully whips Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) and his useful if overcrowded band from Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald - wizard-cop Theseus (Callum Turner), charms professor Lally (Jessica Williams), undercover expert Yusuf (William Ladylam), beast-helper Bunty (Victoria Yeates) and baker Jacob (Dan Fogler) – off to Berlin and breathtaking Bhutan, to thwart Grindelwald’s plan. This time out, he’s wrestling openly with his historic relationship with Muggle-warmonger Gellert Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen), who’s now threatening the wizard-leadership elections with a power grab.

New dumbledore movie