Sometimes an author needs to quit while they are ahead. Fantastic Beasts 2: The Crimes of Grindewald is frankly not very good (40% rating on Rotten Tomatoes) and most of the criticisms are deserved. The movie is too long, the plot is too convoluted, the characters are not always clearly identifiable, and worst of all– the beasts get neglected, despite the title of the movie. And furthermore, it was Newt’s relationship with the beasts in the first of these films that made it so charming. Even if this film is meant to be like the Dark Tower, a second dark film, prior to the enlightening and brighter conclusion it was still not great. I like Newt Scamander and his beasts, but it remains to be seen whether this story will turn out well. As for the acting, Johnny Depp is convincing as the villain, and Mr. Redmayne as the good guy, but some of the other roles could have been better defined.
This installment goes two hours and 14 minutes, and could have used a better editor. This film has a lot of dark scenes and I do not recommend it for small children.
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