On November 16th, 2018, the new Fantastic Beasts movie was released: The Crimes of Grindelwald. As a continuation of the Fantastic Beasts franchise, this movie continues to explore the magical world created by J.K. Rowling. Despite many critics’ scornful reviews of the movie, I personally enjoyed it, though I understand where some of the negative commentary comes from.

The movie itself has amazing graphics and cinematography, very much similar to those used in the first Fantastic Beasts movie. Despite having less new magical creatures than in the first movie, the creatures used were still incredibly realistic. Various settings used throughout the movie were also beautifully crafted, particularly the French Ministry of Magic. All these factors were crucial and extremely well done, helping to bring the whole movie to life.

Beyond the amazing cinematography and graphics used to bring the whole movie together, the story was what many complained about. Truthfully, the story can be very confusing, especially due to the amount of details used by J.K. Rowling. These many details work well in a book; but with a movie, it can pose a problem for those who simply want to relax and watch a movie. The audience is hit with so many details that it becomes difficult to pinpoint which ones are actually significant to the plot as a whole. It does make the actual plot difficult to follow due to all the side stories and background information; what makes it confusing is that we don’t know where the plot is going.

On top of that, many new characters are introduced. Because of this, I would definitely recommend re-watching the first movie, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. I made the mistake of going to see The Crimes of Grindelwald after having seen the previous movie about a year ago. As a result, it took me a second to remember who every character was and to keep up with the story. Again, many of the characters are well-rounded which could become confusing, especially with the introduction of new characters on top of the old ones.

One of the main complaints is the amount of plot holes left unresolved by the movie. However, I think critics are jumping to conclusions too quickly. These plot holes should not define whether or not the movie is good. It is important to remember this is only the second out of five movies, which I think many critics ignored. Obviously, J.K. Rowling doesn’t want her story completely predictable from the start, otherwise what would be the point of making the rest of the movies? Again, she’s the type of writer who adds many details to her stories; therefore, I believe she knows what she’s doing by adding plot holes. However, only time will determine whether or not these are solved.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is filled with many plot twists as well, keeping the audience on their toes until the very end. The whole story is shrouded in mystery and unexpected turns. Although there were a few slow parts in the movie that were a bit confusing, the pace picked up, and these parts became clear by the end. Mabel Ra (12) “was very surprised, especially with the ending, but … can’t wait to see how the plot will unfold.” As the credits scrolled, I remember being shocked but anticipating the next movie.