Hey all,
Been a while since I've hung out around these parts but I've been itching to get back into steelbook / premium collecting so I may be around these parts more often going forward.
Anyways, I just recently saw the new Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore so I figured I'd give a quick review.
Overall score: 5/10
So I am a pretty huge Harry Potter fan as I grew up reading the books and seeing the movies as they came out. I'll always enjoy and give any movie a shot that is set in the same universe. I can't really say the Fantastic Beasts series has been a huge success for me though. While in isolation they are pretty good movies; shot well, good actors, decent story....It's just missing the "magic" that the actual Harry Potter series had. It's definitely hard to put into words. Could it be nostalgia? Possibly. All I can really say is there is definitely something missing from this series for me compared to Harry Potter itself.
That said, I still think these are worth a watch. I think Mads Mikkelsen did a good job, though I am still upset they replaced Johnny Depp. In the grand scheme of things, not a whole lot actually happened in this movie when it comes to story progression. I believe this series is supposed to be 5 movies? So they seem to be stretching out the story as much as they can. I guess another way to explain how I feel about this series would be the same way I felt about The Hobbit vs. Lord of the Rings. There was one scene in this movie where they showed Hogwarts castle itself...And I have to say that was probably my favorite part haha.
In any case - again, I think this is worth a watch, especially if your a Harry Potter fan. It's always great to visit these same universes that you love.