Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is directed by David Yates, Potter director since Order of the Phoenix, and stars Eddy Redmayne, Katherine Waterson, Alison Sudol and Dan Fogler.  We are taken back to 1926 New York, 70 Years before Harry Potter, where we meet a young Newt Scamander on his travels to document his rare beasts. Things don't exactly go to plan, however, and Newt finds himself joining forces with members of the New York wizard community to catch the magical beasts that accidentally escape from his case.

Right from the word go, Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them was a magical journey that made us realise just how much we missed the dearly enchanting world of Harry Potter.  Even the opening credits had me overridden with nostalgia, as we were introduced to a completely different spin on the wizarding world. Magnificent new characters made the film come to life, Redmayne perfectly portrayed the shy, geeky Newt Scamander - his enthusiasm for his work was admirable, whilst his character was socially awkward to say the least.

Other characters include Queenie the quick witted witch and her sister Tina, who both did all they could to help others close to them, and the stand out Jacob, a 'Nomaj' or 'Muggle' who happened to get caught up in all the magic.  Joining the sisters alongside Newt to catch the beasts roaming the streets of New York, Jacob added most of the film's comic relief and almost reduced the audience to tears at the film's climax. The roaring 20's New York theme is played fantastically throughout and depicts the prohibition era perfectly. There was also a strong contrast from the  grey dismal winter city streets to the glitzy, jazz infused speak easies.

Whilst the film does deliver, it certainly feels like it's trying to do too much in too little time however, It's as if two completely wonderful ideas have been fused slightly awkwardly together. The film did had some obvious mistakes, on several occasions there were continuity errors as the scenes jump between one and another, such as a character picking up a briefcase which in the previous scene was in a completely different place. Colin Farrell was incredibly dull and wooden as the 'villain' interest, seemingly adding little of note to the film

The most important aspect to Fantastic Beasts is it's ability to stand out as a Harry Potter film on it's own without to many references to the original films. This film enchanted and surprised me in a way that the later Harry Potter films struggled to do. After five years, one can't begin to describe how magical these films still are. Everything about Fantastic Beasts is different to the other Potter flicks, it's lighthearted spin on the wizarding world has me sold on this films series already.

In the end, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them returns us to the world of magic as if it's our first time. So different to Potter yet clearly related, this is something truly magical. For her first ever screenplay J.K Rowling delivers effortlessly in creating a completely new wizarding realm. 

I am going to give Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them:

8.3/10