Phantastische Tierwesen: Dumbledores Geheimnisse

The most useless film franchise proves that it can be even more useless. David Yates kick-started his career with Harry Potter, but even he and J.K. Rowling must know that this juggernaut they're working on won't win them much applause. Whereas the previous films were merely dull and uninteresting, this one is just a mess most of the time. Things happen that don't make sense, characters appear as it suits the director, and most of them are about as interesting as those faceless bad guys in Commando. Woefully empty. Dumbledore just has a plan, he doesn't tell anyone, and you as the audience must enjoy it, that’s it. The final quarter in Bhutan does offer a few ideas and an attempt at some closure to all this nonsense but I'm really not going to praise the film for climbing from drivel to mediocrity. If the water closes behind this bloodless void after the third film, I won't miss it. On the other hand, I'm glad Yates is dedicating his measly filmmaking skills to this franchise and not hurting anywhere else... (06.04.2022)

Worst cinema visit of the year so far. This is a huge disappointment. I'm a fan of Harry Potter, and I even of the first two Fantastic Beasts movies (which have been heckled by others), but I absolutely did not enjoy this one. Personally, I'm happy for any major fantasy film with monsters, wizards and spectacular VFX attractions as I love the genre and we don't get that too often. Fantastic Beasts definitely has the potential to fulfill all of that, but rather than a spectacular fantasy flick, I felt like I was watching a spectacular family drama with mild fantasy elements, and I certainly didn't order that. David Yates' whole world is crumbling under his feet and he doesn't really know what he wants to do. It's dull, uninteresting, overlong, overwrought and actually quite annoying. Mikkelsen as a replacement for Depp is sadly unworkable, Jude Law is perhaps the only good character and I was entertained by the mysterious Ezra Miller. The rest of the characters, including the protagonist, are both uninteresting and useless. I enjoyed the few references and the return to Hogwarts, along with the theme song, it did play nostalgically on emotions. There are surprisingly only three action scenes (spectacular, pretty but short, and they are few). 15 minutes of action in a 140 minute blockbuster is really a bad idea. I wish at least the humour worked, but it's childish and the few twists are not really engaging. Personally, I was bored waiting for the ending and I can't imagine a full house of kids being entertained by this film (I guess they won't be too interested in the political election). I found it strange that the main character didn't really show much of anything for the whole film, in fact I thought he was more of a supporting character and that probably wasn't the point. Well it was unsatisfying. Story 3/5. Action 3/5, Humour 1/5, Violence 0/5, Fun 2/5 Music 3/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 3/5, Suspense 2/5, Emotion 2/5, Actors 3/5. 4/10. (18.04.2022)

After the first movie, things went from ten to five with Fantastic Beasts. The second one was a real letdown for me, which I had just gotten over. The magic of Hogwarts has worn off, I got lost again for quite some time in the confusing and less than imaginative story of a group of unmatched characters. It was a completely unfortunate role for Mads. It's very nice that they cast him, but how about writing a role for him so he can actually act in it? So the lightest scene in the film for me remains Eddie's dance with the crabs and animals. (14.04.2022)

Nothing happens. Everybody managed to overcome the obstacles without any great trouble and it all ended up fine in the end. Rowling can tell a good story, but now she has nothing to tell, or else she’s saving up the entertaining stuff for her next two books. When will the wizards have to zig-zag between tanks on a Second World War battlefield? To make matters worse, Yates has no invention and has been humming the same tune since the fifth Potter. Dumbledore’s great secret is just a confirmation of what we long since suspected and Law has no material to work with. Mikkelsen has almost nothing to act and spends most of the time stroking a Chinese fawn. The rest of the gang traipse from place to place, sorry, relocate themselves according to Dumbledore’s secret plan which is so secret that nobody, including the viewer, understands it. Not even Dan Fogler makes it any better. Part four has to be tanks vs. wizards with a new director. Otherwise there’s no point in filming it. (11.06.2022)

Da ich zu der Generation gehöre, die mit der Reihe Harry Potter aufgewachsen ist, freue ich mich immer auf jede Rückkehr in die Welt der Hexerei und Zauberei (nicht nur) in Hogwarts. Nach dem dritten Teil von Phantastische Tierwesen habe ich jedoch immer noch gemischte Gefühle - einerseits bin ich froh, dass die Mythologie der Zaubererwelt erweitert wird, andererseits riecht diese Serie nach Ausbeutung einer berühmten Marke aus Profitgründen. Dumbledores Geheimnisse enthält mehr als eine bemerkenswerte (und nostalgische) Szene, aber gleichzeitig hatte ich das Gefühl, dass mehr als eine gut gemeinte oder phantasievolle Szene im Wirrwarr des unbeholfenen Drehbuchs untergegangen ist. Die Qilin-Linie war großartig, obwohl ich jedes Mal, wenn von seiner Reinheit die Rede war, unweigerlich an das arme Einhorn aus Der Stein der Weisen denken musste. Die Darstellung und Erklärung der Beziehung zwischen Dumbledore und Grindelwald war stellenweise vielleicht etwas zu wörtlich, aber ich habe die Besetzung von Mads Mikkelsen sehr begrüßt (Depp ist mein Lieblingsschauspieler, aber er passte einfach nicht in PhT). Bei den magischen Duellen hatte man das Gefühl, dass sich die Macher vom MCU inspirieren ließen, insbesondere von Doctor Strange, und ich weiß nicht, ob das gut oder schlecht ist. Die Figur der Queenie war für mich endlich erträglich, während Credence mir beim ersten Mal nicht so gut gefallen hat. Dank des Schauplatzes der Geschichte u. a. in Berlin waren mehrere deutsche Schauspieler in dem Film vertreten, was ich sehr begrüßte, und ich möchte hier besonders Oliver Masucci (bekannt aus der Serie Dark) erwähnen. Ich bin natürlich neugierig auf die nächste (und hoffentlich letzte) Fortsetzung, und ich würde lügen, wenn ich behaupten würde, dass ich PhZ 3 im Kino nicht genossen hätte, aber als Zuschauer hatte ich einen faden Nachgeschmack vom offensichtlichen Plot-Overkill und Zerstreutheit im Mund. Bessere drei Sterne! (13.04.2022)