Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) is a movie with most of the elements of an excellent film, but fails to mix them properly in the test tube. Intriguing characters, excellent visuals, a plot that doesn’t give away the game in the first ten minutes, dialog appropriate to the characters (although sometimes I failed to follow the accent of the main character), magical creatures exhibiting traits both appropriate and comedic, they’re all there.
What’s missing is a sense of the daring. The sense of exploring an intriguing theme. The idea that one should walk out of the theater chewing on the ideas behind the film.
Those are not in this film. There is plenty of something akin to deux ex machina, a sure sign of a failing story, and a main danger of stories involving magic, where the problems may be wished away – especially in a universe where the use of magic doesn’t even seem to require much in the way of resources.
But don’t let this scare you from this movie. There’s a lot of deliberate comedic elements, some excellent dramatic elements, and the visuals & special effects appear flawless. (Although I will complain that some intercharacter chemistry simply did not work for me.)
But you won’t be thinking about this movie an hour later. It’s like a luscious meringue, airy and sweet, but no nutrition.
And I should take them to task for that completely conventional ending. They could have done so much more with it.
