Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016), PG-13, ★★★

Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander.

Well...after Deathly Hallows...the HP movie universe was over. But, now, 5 years later, even though it is not an HP movie, we have a movie dealing with the same magical aspects and the same world that we, the audience and fans, are enamored by for the past decade or so. So, obviously, I am enamored by most of the movies from the franchise and also the books from J.K. Rowling. The franchise transcended a genre almost unlike any other that succumbs to the realm of fantastical settings that we are almost inhabited in. Well, if you wanted to inhabit in a world of Hogwarts, go to Universal Studios in Orlando. However, this spin-off sets a solid start to a potential franchise that ultimately pays off in its settings, special effects and some memorable supporting characters. But, the movie has somewhat of a thin screenplay as the story is a bit underdeveloped and does not pay off as well as I thought it should have been.

In 1926, Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) travels by boat to New York City with a briefcase full of "fantastic beasts". Newt has a close call with the customs official as he is inspecting the briefcase. While walking through the city, Newt comes across a fundamentalist and leader of the Second Salemers, Mary Lou Barebone (Samantha Morton), a group that is protesting against magic. She has three adopted children - Credence (Ezra Miller), Modesty (Faith Wood-Blagrove) and Chastity (Jenn Murray). While talking with Mary Lou, one of Newt's creatures, a Niffler escapes from his case when it sees a shiny coin and makes its way to the bank.

While in the bank, Newt meets a factory worker named Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler), who is seeking a loan for the bakery. After retrieving the Niffler from the bank vault, Newt grabs Jacob outside to prepare to obliviate him. Jacob strikes him with the suitcase and escapes. Porpentina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston), an American witch, catches Newt and brings him to the headquarters of the Magical Congress and the United States of America (MAC-USA) as a result of using magic in front of No-majes (American equivalent of Muggles). Tina takes Newt to her old office and sees Perciaval Graves (Colin Farrell), an Auror, and interrogates him to see what is in his briefcase. But, he does not have his briefcase, but Jacob's.

Later, Newt and Tina go to Jacob's place, which is partially destroyed and his neck is being scratched up, and they take him away from the apartment. They go to Tina's house where she shares with her sister, Queenie (Alison Sudol), who is an expert Legilimens (a mind reader). They go get comfortable in their rooms and while Newt is healing Jacob, Newt asks him to go find the missing creatures from his briefcase. He accepts.

Where are the creatures?

This is a solid entry for the potential franchise, no more, no less. Even though there were pacing issues in its first act, the movie sets up the adventure quite nicely as it attempts to establish the characters. Even though the movie is irrelevant from the HP universe, it is not detriment to the magical flair of the franchise. You can see some awe in which Jacob observes all the magic going on while he is with Newt and Tina and Queenie. But, there is a narrative problem because it does not set up the characters quite with enough background and that's J.K. Rowling's, the writer of the movie, problem. I felt it was more of a fan-service especially in the first hour as it is mostly a build-up to this originated world. We're about into the plot almost an hour in the movie and that was the same problem with the Sorcerer's Stone film.

Eddie Redmayne does what he can for the lead character of Newt Scamander, however, he is simply a guy trying to retrieve creatures. There's not much backstory and not much interest for one film. He needed to be more developed as a character in a first movie compare to other originated films like The Sorcerer's Stone or Star Wars: A New Hope. He does have a great comic rapport with Dan Fogler in which is one of the strengths of the film as it is a fun buddy picture. Colin Farrell is quite menacing and authoritative in this meaty role but, again, his character is a bit one-note and he is interesting until its revelation, which frustrated me. There is something there in Waterston in this movie but her character seems to cover up her name. I liked Alison Sudol in this movie as she has nice romantic chemistry with Fogler. Jon Voight, Ezra Miller, Carmen Ejogo, Samantha Morton looks like they are pleased to be there.

I am glad that David Yates is back because the cinematography, action and special effects, even in the creatures, were charming especially in the second half of the movie without revealing one major spoiler. Those are some of the precursors that led me to recommend this movie because I had fun revisiting the magical world in which mostly two characters are chasing creatures. There is a dark sub-plot that does not seem to take off but should have been explored more deeply. The editing was a bit clunky in the first half but it got redeemed in the second half. It is one of those rare movies that sort of makes a disservice to the franchise but improves upon itself to conclusively produce itself as a fun ride with some adventure, even though a little of the magic is lost. I admire Rowling's imagination for this movie, but her craftsmanship in her screenplay needs some work. Still, I liked it enough. Harry Potter fans will have fun with this movie.

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