Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Review (2016)

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

 

  Set in the Harry Potter universe, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them introduces us to a young, British wizard named Newt Scamander. Newt is basically the wizard version of Hagrid. He loves his magical creatures and wants others to love them too, even at the cost of people possibly getting hurt. In the film, his magical creatures get out in New York city and he, with the help of another wizard and a no-maj (American version of a muggle), must find them and return them to his suitcase before the wizarding world is revealed. 

  That's our story, and let me tell you, it's all kinds of wonderful. Eddie Redmayne is one of the best actors working today, and he nails it as Newt. He's charming, modest, a little eccentric, and unlike Harry, not so full of teenage angst.

  The entire cast is great, but some other stand outs were Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Colin Farrell, and I've always loved Ezra Miller.

  The production design of the new universe is absolutely perfect! All of the creatures were adorable, and the locations were gorgeous. Definitely go see this one in IMAX, you won't regret it.

  Are there problems with the film? Sure. The film walks the thin line of cute and cheesy at times, and it doesn't try to hide the obvious set up for future movies. That said, J.K. Rowling has returned with a bang, giving us one extremely exciting fantasy film that's thoroughly entertaining. 8 out of 10 stars (I'd Buy It)