Magic Incarnate: A Fun And Enchanting Beginning
As hard as it is to see, since there have been many commendable film franchises that have come and gone, Warner Bros’. lucrative and lauded franchise of ‘Harry Potter’, stands today to be the 2nd highest grossing franchise in film history. With eight films being made in total that had drawn audiences towards a popular cinematic universe that all ended five years ago, it’s easy to fathom just how much people morally favour the big-screen incarnations of J.K. Rowling’s boy-wizard, than the original books themselves. Indeed, the success, which director David Yates had influenced right up-to the end, that ‘Harry Potter’ rightly earned, shouldn’t be questioned, despite it’s rather outlandish contextual tropes. However, with success, comes more intrigue and demand for film studios to expand to that particular universe. Inevitably, as it is with every film-related ensemble in this day-and -age that begrudgingly forms itself through executive and money-making decisions, sequels/prequels and spin-offs take centre-stage to plague our eyes with, sometimes, needless narrative-expansion that does nothing more than to serve as a reminder of how pointless these workings can be in-relation to the established plot. Thankfully, with not only Rowling making her efforts known by producing and making her script-writing debut but also Yates entering into the world of witchcraft and wizardry once again, this expansion of Rowling’s world, Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, truly stands on its own two feet and doesn’t rely on already told events. Coupled with an eccentric steam-punk production design, which coalesces the thematic approaches, and characters that are approachable, likeable and intricate in comparison to the lead roles in ‘Harry Potter’, Fantastic Beasts is a modern example of how a filmic spin-off should be done…
Based on the school textbook that Hogwarts students read upon in the ‘Harry Potter’ books, Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them centres its story around Newt Scamander, a magizoologist who is looking through 1920’s New York City to find various creatures that have escaped his suitcase. Upon his arrival, not only has Newt caught himself into a time of turmoil, where the fragile equilibrium of secrecy between the unseen world of wizards and witches and the ‘No-Maj’s’ (American term for Muggles, people who are unable to use magic) is at risk of being unsettled and mystical acts of destruction are causing havoc within the streets of New York, but he now has to locate his missing beasts along with No-Maj baker, Jacob Kowalski, who increasingly becomes intrigued by the delicacy of the magical world. Together, along with demoted Auror, Tina Goldstein, and her mind-reading sister, Queenie, can Newt and Jacob chase down all the loose creatures? Or will something more sinister threaten their journey and the magical world itself?…
Given how Fantastic Beasts is the beginning of Rowling’s new franchise that connects to the world of the many ‘Harry Potter’ stories, essentially becoming a spin-off of the main story, it’s understandable for many audiences to be trepidatious in going into this film. While the filmic series of ‘Harry Potter’ went on to be one of the more intriguing franchises as each new film was being released, it’s always a worry when a film studio decides to ‘expand’ on these acclaimed stories since many spin-offs have a bad record of not enticing the richness of the already established characters, story and world. By skewering away from the set-plot, and into the inevitable chain of prequels, sequels and spin-offs, it only creates a scenario whereby characters and specific plot details are recycled; reminding us of only the ties that we’ve already come across before. However, in the instance of Fantastic Beasts, we’re presented with a tie-in film that intriguingly stands on it’s own and doesn’t rely on already-told events. Indeed, while there are little contextual nods of Gellert Grindewald and other magical objects that keen Potter fans will identify with straight away, Yates, who was correctly chosen to be director of Rowling’s magical world once again, goes about telling Fantastic Beasts’ narrative in an approachable manner that the familiarised audience, and the newcomers, can and will understand/appreciate what’s being displayed. One of the aspects that Yates utilises in doing this, is through the slow yet momentous contextualising of the likeable characters and the setting, a motif of Yates that was employed in the later Potter films. While a few will differentiate themselves from the slow build-up of the narrative/characters and contend themselves against the expected exposition, which is neatly fitted in within the just-over 2 hour running time, both of these constructs are a necessity since the story doesn’t plainly follow Newt and Kowlaski obtaining the different of array of beasts through 1920’s New York. Instead, rather cleverly, Fantastic Beasts braids a handful of other plot-lines, ranging from the Magical Congress of the United States handling the revelation of the existence of wizards and the wizarding world to Percival Graves (Collin Farell) conversing with the troubled Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller), that all slowly interweave with one another into a eventful city-shaking cataclysm. For sure, in similar vain to The Philosopher’s Stone, Fantastic Beasts is an origins story in Rowling’s ever-changing fantastical world that doesn’t have the impactful grandeur that was ever-present in Yates’ Potter filmic-workings. However, there is distinct feeling that this new perspective of this lauded world, is holding back for bigger and and hopefully even more intriguing things down the road. The sheer delight upon seeing the menagerie of creatures hidden within Newt’s briefcase, an item that expands it’s space like the Tardis in Doctor Who, is evidence alone of where this new film franchise can go to.
One of the main cinematic constructs that formed the ‘Harry Potter’ film franchise into being one of the more successful and profitable series in history, was it’s progressive management of the characterisation and how the protagonists, antagonists and other secondary characters were complex whilst being engageable. Comparable to how we see the interaction of Harry, Ron and Hermione, Rowling manages to once against manifest a strong character dynamic that is seen within Newt, Kawolski, Tina Goldstein and her mind-reading sister Queenie. With the inclusion of a budding attraction that Newt shares with Tina as well as a gentle romance that blossoms between the witch of Queenie and the No-Maj of Kawolski, it is these subtly heartfelt bonds that anchor the busy plotting of the 2nd and 3rd acts and show just how much Rowling takes pride in writing such accessible personalities. Not only does each of these characters have a distinct trait about that stands out from one-another, they’re protagonists that are likeable, approachable and just as complex as the intricate individuals that the ‘Harry Potter’ films consist of. Newt Scamander, concisely performed by Eddie Redmayne, is the fundamental main role that most exceeds this construct since he’s only an inviting figure that is mercurial about all things related to magic, but he’s also an introverted person that withdraws himself through a reserved body-language as well as not making much eye contact with the present heroes. Curiously, in having a much more comfortable relationship towards animals than people, one noticeable feature of Newt that audiences will come to witness, is his nature of hiding away past pain without making seem clichéd, which is good to see from a cinematic standpoint. This ‘trauma’ which is seen through the eccentric wizard, develops through the course of the story and is changed when Newt meets Kawolski, the Muggle baker-wannabe who get’s caught up in the magic-escapade. Dan Fogler’s performance of the lovable No-Maj, indeed transpires into the typical comic-relief/ audience character that gives the viewers, who have no knowledge of Rowling’s fantastical concept, information and exposition that is pertinent to know. Yet, despite his character being tiered as Newt’s apprentice when they search for the beasts, the character of Kawolski never manages to get in the way of the story-telling. Fogler embodies a relatable individual that no only add’s to the escapist-fun that the film display’s within the 1st act, he also add’s to emotionalism of the concluding events. Much of the same things can be said of Catherine Watterson as Auror-investigator Tina, who investigates the strange-dark happenings that are occurring in the city and wholly emphasises the character depth that is represented within Fantastic Beasts.
Aside from Yates’ story-telling/structuring and the character’s that enrich Rowling’s magical wording, one cinematic aesthetic that enhances the already-discussed features that Fantastic Beasts confidently presents, is the ornate steam-punk filled production design beautifully shines through every frame. Whether we’re seeing a seedy underground jazz club filled with peculiar-beings or witnessing the different array of beasts that lay bare in Newt’s expansive briefcase, everything ranging from the grounded yet magical settings, to the period clothing that each characters wears, formally augments the dark and fun motifs that will, hopefully, carry over towards the next couple of films in this new series. The special effects work equally in tangent with the outlook of the film as well; presenting to us an assortment of creatures that fittingly interact with on-screen events.
Excluding the possibility of this film possessing problems with it’s slow contextual structuring and having exposition that perhaps wasn’t needed for many of the devoted fans, David Yates’ return to Rowling’s ever-lauded concept in Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them is a fantasy film that audiences will come out of the theatres appreciating for it’s likeable character’s and an urban-utopia setting that supplements the spells and creatures that differ from the already established. Indeed, to call it fantastic may be slightly hyperbolic, but Fantastic Beasts simply executes it’s narrative, and other formal tactics, in a fun and traditional manner; perfectly setting the stage for a new chapter of the wizarding world viewers have come to embrace through the ‘Harry Potter’ films. In having no real source material to read-ahead, it’s a certainty that fans and newcomers alike, will be intrigued to see what future events will occur from Yates’ latest Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them…
With that, it’s time for me to end. As always everyone, thank you for reading my latest film review of Fantastic Beasts and I hope you’ve all enjoyed the read!! 😊 If anyone has an opinion on either my latest film review or on the film itself, please feel free to drop a comment down below. Now, as far as schedule goes towards the end of the year, it’s going to be a bit messy. While I know that my next film review will be Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, I don’t know, precisely, if I can give you that review on a Friday as I usually do. The reason why the schedule will be a bit messed up, is due to the fact that I have a new job, and I don’t know when I’ll find the time to publish what I want to do. Having said that, as far as posts go up to the end of the year, there will not only be the review of Rogue One, but I will round-off the year of 2016 with a simple yet fun list of films and other things that I’ve enjoyed watching from this year, which I can’t wait to write up!! 😊 Anywho, thank you to everyone for reading my latest film review and I’ll hopefully see you all soon!! Have a nice day and week!! Adieu!! 😁😎✋✌
★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ – Alex Rabbitte