FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE SECRETS OF DUMBLEDORE - Review

In the past I have been something of Fantastic Beasts apologist. I thought the first film was a bit of  enjoyable, if inconsequential, fluff, and it’s sequel, The Crimes of Grindelwald, despite is somewhat muddled plot lines, pushed the series forward into more overtly political territories.

So, when I saw the trailers for The Secrets of Dumbledore I was encouraged. Unfortunately, this encouragement was misplaced, as the film is an overly long, nonsensical slog.

Many of the main players from the previous films return, for a reason that is never properly explained, to take down franchise antagonist Gellert Grindelwald. This ragtag group is led by Eddie Redmaynes Newt Scamander, on behalf of the titular Dumbledore, who explains that due to a blood pact he cannot move against Grindelwald himself, despite the fact that he then spends the entirety of the film doing exactly that, to absolutely no obviously apparent consequence.

Grindelwald himself is now played by Mads Mikkelsen, who in every scene seemed to be regretting more and more signing on to be part of this hot mess, and the anticipated final two films in the franchise. Unfortunately, his version of “The most dangerous wizard of all time”, is, as is the film, just a bit dull. 

It was absolutely the correct decision to remove Johnny Depp from the role, but there is no getting away from the fact the Depp’s characterisation of Grindelwald was far more engaging than Mikkelsen’s, who exhibits no chemistry at all with Jude Law’s Dumbledore. For two characters that are supposed to have a past it feels like they have never met before. 

Grindelwald’s grand plan in The Secrets of Dumbledore is to become the leader of the Wizarding World, a position that has never been mentioned in any Wizarding World story until this one, despite it’s apparent significance. You might be forgiven for thinking at this stage that we might be in for some interesting political commentary… but no. We are barely introduced to his competitors, one of whom isn’t even given a single line of dialogue, we don’t see who or what the candidates stand for, other than Grindelwalds “Muggles bad” stance, and, crucially, are given no indication of how important a position this is, making it difficult to grasp how large the stakes are.

There are occasional mumblings from our protagonists about saving the world, but honestly, it really never feels like the world is on the line.

Perhaps this is because we already know where the story is going to end. Anyone who has read the Harry Potter books, or seen the films, knows how the story of Dumbledore and Grindelwald plays out, so we know, ultimately where this film is going. The fact that we know that the Harry Potter series happens in this worlds future, means we know that the world doesn’t end and we know Grindelwald will ultimately get his comeuppance. So where’s the threat? What is there to make us keeping watching?

I’ve written before about threat in films, and in a film where the fates of the lead characters has already been established, you need to create supporting characters that the audience cares about, something which, in the past, has been J.K Rowlings forte. Rowling has never been a good writer, but she has made up for this with her ability to create world and characters that the audience is gripped by.

The Secrets of Dumbledore, though,  totally fails at this, to the point where, three films in, I barely know the characters name. Despite the films overwhelming long run time, there are so many plot points, and the characters are so thinly drawn, that it’s difficult to care if any of them live or die. Each one of them feels like a plot device, created purely to move us from A to B, rather than a living, breathing person that inhabits the world.

Even the characters that we know and love from the Harry Potter franchise feel strangely disconnected from it. There is nothing in Jude Law’s portrayal of Dumbledore that makes you believe he will ever become the character as depicted by Richard Harris or Michael Gambon. And this isn’t Law’s fault, rather it is entirely down to poor writing. Rowling has created a character that makes since in this film, rather than a film that makes sense in the wider franchise. 

The Secrets of Dumbledore relies heavily on nostalgia, and a good will from the audience that no longer exists. It could have been the shot in the arm this floundering franchise needed. Alas, it only serves to prove that J.K. Rowlings Wizarding World, has finally lost it’s magic. 

It is stated by Dumbledore that the Phoenix, the imagery of which plays so heavily throughout, will only come to those who are dying. Take from that what you will.