Movie Review: Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them

Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them


Movie Review by Lauren

I absolutely love the Harry Potter books, which you should all know by now, so I was extremely excited to see Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them. I knew I would love the movie as it takes us back to the wizarding world, this time in 1920’s New York; it stars two of my favorite actors Eddie Redmayne and Ezra Miller; and most importantly of all, the screenplay is written by J.K. Rowling.

I saw the movie this past Thursday night at my local AMC Theaters with a friend and my sister. We all loved the film and I’m hoping to go again this Thanksgiving sometime so my parents can see it as well. I’m going to assume that you already know about Fantastic Beasts and just talk about my thoughts and feelings. However, you can visit IMDB to learn more if you must!

Newt arrives in New York – source

First off, I thought all of the actors did a fantastic job. As I said above, I love Eddie Redmayne and I think he was fantastic as Newt Scamander. He was a bit awkward, but a great guy who genuinely cares about people and animals. I loved seeing all of Newt’s beasts and getting to know them a bit better. Newt’s love and devotion for saving and caring for these beasts is clearly shown.

Credence – source

Another favorite of mine is Ezra Miller, and it’s great to see him in a more mainstream movie. I’m sure he’s going to gain a lot of fans now. Ezra plays a young man named Credence Barebone. His adopted mom makes all of her children hand out flyers and listen to her preach about the evil of witches. They are a group called the Second Salemers.

Mr. Graves – source

It’s obvious from the beginning that Credence is being forced to do this, and that he actually doesn’t mind witches/wizards, as he does investigative work for Mr. Graves (played by Colin Farrell). Mr. Graves works for the Magical Congress of the United States of American (MACUSA), but there is definitely something off about him.

Tina has the dark hair, Queenie is the blond- source

Other important characters are Katherine Waterston, who plays Tina, and becomes caught up in all the mayhem when she witnesses Newt doing magic; Alison Sudol, who plays Queenie, and is Tina’s sister. She’s a fun character who falls for the other main character, Jacob Kowalski (played by Dan Fogler). He is a No-Maj (American term for Muggle) but he sees Newt doing magic in the beginning of the movie, and he runs off before Newt can obliviate him (make him forget what he saw) and Newt and Tina end up coming across Jacob again in the movie, so he joins them on their adventure.

Jacob and Newt – source

All in all, I thought the casting was great. The setting of 1920’s New York was done well, and I liked the jazz club they feature as it really shows off the style and music of the time period. Not all of the characters in this film survive, but I liked that, because it shows the danger that they are all in. There is a force – or perhaps a beast?- that is attacking No-Maj and magic-folk alike, and it’s making MACUSA nervous as they are in hiding from the No-Maj.

It was a great film, and one I’d definitely see again. Loved the casting, the setting, the overall story. It’s an emotional film in parts, but it also has J.K. Rowling’s classic humor. It’s full of fantastic beasts – a favorite of mine is the Niffler that loves all shiny things – and it ends in a way that makes you excited for the next film!

Check out the fun Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them prize pack giveaway – open to U.S. – and it ends December 1, so enter now!