Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Franchise

[ce1ticmoon]

There wasn't really a thread for this, so I'm just jotting down some thoughts here....

I finally watched Fantastic Beasts. Overall, it was a decent, entertaining film. Nothing exceptional, but it got me looking forward to what's to come in the series.

It was a little slow in the beginning, with what basically amounts to a scavenger hunt for the magical creatures while introducing us to the world and characters, but it really picked up in the second half with the Obscurious plot.

The future of the series clearly seems like it will lead to a war revolving around Grindewald/Dumbledore, so I kind of wonder about the title of the series going forward. I mean, the whole "Fantastic Beasts" thing almost seemed like a sideplot even in this first movie as it is. But we'll see, I guess.

And are we stuck with David Yates for the whole series? Something about his direction just feels bland to me. I was never thrilled that he continued directing every HP movie after Order of the Phoenix.

And I must mention how much I liked Jacob and Queenie. They were the stand-out characters in the film and really gave the movie a lot of charm. Jacob in particular, I feel, was the heart and soul of the film, and I hope we see both characters with prominent roles throughout the saga.

[Disney's Divinity]

I was actually going to update this thread for the same reason last week, but I thought nobody would care. I finally saw it last Thursday and I have to be honest that I loved it. I’m glad now that they have a plan for 5 and hopefully nothing happens to change course. My favorite characters in the movie were Newt, Queenie, Credence, and Jacob (in that order). I’d say Newt is one of my favorite characters in the HP universe period; he's such a sweet character and I love the mannerisms Redmayne gave him (I don't know if the directors/Rowling played a part in that or not). I’m so glad that Rowling clarified on Twitter that Newt will be the main character for the whole series after one of the filmmakers talked as if they didn’t think so. I didn’t really expect to like Jacob because he looked like the mouthy comic relief, but he was as charming as all the other characters. I loved the creatures (particularly the bowtruckle and the niffler) and the Obscurus plot.

My only criticism was Tina being thrown at Newt at the end. Bland and uninteresting and unnecessary (just like Ginny/Harry and Remus/Tonks), especially apparent when there actually was chemistry between Jacob and Queenie. I have no reason why they decided to force something romance-related there either, except that he's a guy and she's a girl, so nature says they must procreate with the closest available partner. I also hate Johnny Depp’s cameo. I don’t dislike him as an actor, but he doesn’t suit that character at all (and looks nothing like the books described him). My disappointment was maximized because I really enjoyed Colin Farrell in this. Spoiler for the sequel: I’m also not looking forward to Jude Law as Dumbledore. Just…not a fan. And Johnny Depp and Jude Law don't look like they'd go together at all....

I’ve been reading the past week about cuts to Rowling’s screenplay from Yates so I can get a full picture of everything she meant for the movie. I hope one day she releases her original screenplays for the series (and Lord knows everybody involved with her should be fine with that, because $$$). Spoilers for sequel: I’m so glad Credence is still alive. I had an inkling he had to be because during the scene after Grindelwald is escorted away, for some reason Newt is looking up at a wisp that’s moving away while the president is talking. I hope Credence ends up traveling with Newt. I’ve read we’ll meet Newt’s brother and most likely Leta, and the story will be in Paris.

Btw, I also got around to seeing Doctor Strange and I was disappointed, tbh. I didn't hate it, but it's one of those films that seem like the sequel will be much better than the original. I thought Tilda Swinton did a fantastic job--as she does. Cumberbatch was alright, although I have a feeling they picked him so they could ape his Sherlock performance to a degree. He did differentiate his performance, but the character just wasn't very interesting.

[ce1ticmoon]

I'll just say SPOILERS follow:

I liked the way Newt was played as well, though I felt it was difficult to understand what he was saying at times. I wouldn't say he was quite unintelligible, but if I see it again, I might play it with subtitles. But it was definitely great to see the lead character somewhat outside the usual mold, as far as action blockbusters go.

I agree that the possible romance set up between Newt and Tina at the end seems misguided. I was really hoping they wouldn't go there, and then they went precariously close. Quenie/Jacob felt organic; Newt/Tina (at least at this point) does not. At this point it is still just a set-up, so hopefully they just drop it going forward. (Glad I'm not the only one who felt that Harry/Ginny was terrible. I didn't feel that Lupin/Tonks worked either, but it was kinda whatever to me since it basically just happened on the sidelines. But Harry/Ginny felt so forced, especially next to Hermione/Ron, which was developed much more organically over the course of the series.)

Honestly, I don't really remember how Grindewald is described in the books. I'm really unsure of Johnny Depp playing him though, as well. I see Johnny Depp, and all I can really see is Johnny Depp...

I was wondering about Credence, and figured he might still be around for the sequels. I actually think that makes a lot of sense, since he seems he might be the key to keeping the main characters from the first film tied to the whole Grindewald/Dumbledore plot to come.

[Disney's Divinity]

I got Sotiris to transfer these FB&WtFT posts to its own thread, considering it's a series and I'll probably comment again in future. Thanks, Sotiris.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is currently scheduled for November 2018, with filming beginning this September.

[Disney's Divinity]

I loved Crimes of Grindelwald! I think my only criticism of the film would be Queenie. I mean, I like the idea of her finding Grindelwald's message palatable in a way, but her shift wasn't shown very well. I feel like if they'd given her and especially Jacob, who was such a big part of the first film, one or two more scenes (possibly before the finale scene of the meeting), I wouldn't have felt that way. I wish Credence and Nagini had received more screentime, or that at least Newt and Credence had interacted once. The film definitely feels as if there's deliberately more action scenes than the first, where there were a great deal of little moments to breathe and build the characters. I'm guessing that was something TPTB specifically asked Rowling to give them.

"Meh" is still my only thought about Tina. Leda and Theseus were very different from what I expected going in. I thought Theseus would be more hostile to Newt, Leda perhaps crazy and manipulative in some way considering her last name's Lestrange, but Leda was actually a great one-off character (the boggart's appearance early on was foreboding and chilling) and Theseus and Newt had a dynamic that felt genuine. Actually, a great deal of things were different from what I expected for the sequel. The first shocker was that Johnny Depp wasn't completely horrid in the role of Grindelwald. Further, I thought the circus would be a more dominant setting for the film, but it's pretty much done with after one scene. There was also minimal interaction between Newt and Jacob. I had expected more with Credence this film, too, although I can forgive his small part since he's pretty much guaranteed a bigger role in the next one after the reveal that he's a brother of Dumbledore's. I enjoyed that reveal, the inclusion of Flamel, and the little additions we're getting about where Fawkes and Nagini came from, how Fiendfyre can be stopped, and--with the blood pact--a legitimate reason for why Dumbledore didn't confront Grindelwald for so long according to the story of the HP books. I loved all the new beasts, getting to see more of the Niffler, and Redmayne as Newt is still a great character and fun to watch, imo. When Dumbledore mentioned a friend Newt would visit, I thought it might be a young Slughorn, which would've been fun, too.

I checked its reception online because I've worried the series might get cut down from 5 to 3 if the 2nd one had done poorly, but CoG did decently (650 million worldwide), even if that was a drop from the first film (800 million). The critics were unfortunately harder on the film than I would've guessed. I don't quite understand why, because I left the film satisfied for the most part? I would've expected something around 60-70% for this, not a 37%. I'll continue to enjoy the film regardless; I'm only concerned how it might affect what happens to the franchise going forward. There's already too much meddling with Rowling, imo, as it is. Reading about cuts and difficulties BTS for both the films in the franchise so far, I honestly wish / hope Rowling will write a book version of this story eventually or at least release uncut screenplays or something. The film series of HP was--mostly--awful despite a great cast, so I can only imagine how much great material is being--stupidly--cut or altered to suit Warner Bros. And I'm starting to be afraid, from things I've read about the delay of the next one from Nov. 2020 to Nov. 2021, that Rowling may not even be allowed to write for the next one.

I'm curious how all the characters will be wrapped up in the end. I expect Newt with Tina, and Jacob with Queenie at the end of course, but I think Credence / Aurelius will likely die and of course Nagini must have a pretty dark turn to end up with Voldemort. What could make her want to torture Muggles / Mudbloods (since she was clearly still sentient despite fully in snake form during her moments in the HP books)? Perhaps Jacob (the only Muggle character) or Queenie betray her in some way, or cause Credence's death? I almost wonder if there may end up being a plot twist that Credence is not to actually related to the Dumbledores because it would be pretty sad if Grindelwald caused the death of two of Albus' siblings. I suppose there will be some kind of flash forward epilogue of Nagini's first meeting with Tom Riddle at the end of the series as a lead in for the HP films.

Regardless, I'm looking forward to the next one!