FANTASTIC Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (henceforth to be referred to as Secrets) is the third film in the Fantastic Beast franchise, which are themselves prequels to the massively successful Harry Potter series of movies, of which there were eight. So you would think things might get bogged down in lore, but things move along in an even clip, it’s just unfortunate that there’s not much substance to a lot of it.
In terms of story, basically, there’s an upcoming election for who will be in charge of the magical world and there are these rare enchanted deer who will make the decision, as per tradition. Weird electoral system, but this is fantasy, so fine. If the evil Grindelwald wins, he will begin his war on humans or muggles as they are known in the Wizarding World. Dumbledore, with the help of Newt Scamander and friends, has to protect these animals with the fate of the world in the balance.
It sounds simple enough, but in execution, the movie is muddled with a lot of busywork and plot for the sake of plot. The whole middle chunk of Secrets is filled with a bunch of characters, some from earlier films and some brand new, running around and doing magic things as they are wont to do, but it doesn’t really add up to anything. The stakes are apparently high, but everything feels so light.
Which is a little odd in a movie with allusions to the rise of fascism as it takes place in the 1930s, with many scenes in Germany as Grindelwald is supported by shadowy elements and preaches maintaining the purity of magical bloodlines. A lot of obvious Hitler vibes, but this being a movie for children avoids the full implications of that.
There are payoffs to storylines established in the previous films, as well as setting up some elements of the Harry Potter saga, but they seem to lack a satisfying punch and feel almost perfunctory. There’s really nothing surprising that happens.
Well, perhaps the one surprising element is the allusions to a homoerotic history between Dumbledore and Grindelwald, that these two men once had a romantic connection that was severed over a difference in ideology. It’s not much, but it is certainly more than any Marvel movie has ever done in terms of this kind of representation.
There are a number of controversies affecting some of the people involved in Secrets, but most of that isn’t necessary to mention, except for the casting of villain Grindelwald, who was played by Johnny Depp in the last movie. Here he is replaced by the great Mads Mikkelsen, who knows how to play a villain just by his presence. Unfortunately, he’s missing for a lot of the movie and is quite under-utilised, which happens whenever he does a big American movie.
His smouldering is evenly matched by the playful charm of Jude Law as Dumbledore (played by Richard Harris and Michael Gambon in the original series). Underneath the silliness of protecting magical deer, there’s a real warmth and humanity to his character.
Most of the performances in Secrets are fine, nothing special, with a lot of the comedic heavy lifting being done by Dan Fogler as Kowalski as the token Muggle among the good guys. Jessica Williams as Lally does a really weird old-timey (British, but not quite?) accent that is a tad too cartoonish. Eddie Redmayne is the protagonist by default, but he’s really only asked to look at things with awe and wonderment.
As for the titular beasts, there are a handful of them, and they do look fantastic indeed, but they have been relegated to sidekick status. The other effects are quite good, though wands are not exactly the most fearsome weapons in action scenes. Grown adults seriously shooting beams out of wooden sticks are a bit much, but maybe that’s just a personal anti-magic bias.
Ultimately, despite its more than two-hour-long running time (the default minimum for big-budget movies these days) nothing much of consequence really happens. There’s no real drama, with twists and character reversals being all too predictable. Secrets has moments of wonder sprinkled throughout, but that doesn’t make for a satisfying movie. – The Vibes, April 14, 2022
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