A heavy weight rests on Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore. In the four years since The Crimes Of Grindelwald arrived to muted reviews and underwhelming box office, much has changed in the Wizarding World’s orbit. J.K. Rowling’s controversial comments on gender identity have cast a long shadow over the beloved world she created in Harry Potter; Johnny Depp resigned from the threequel one week into production at the studio’s request, replaced by Mads Mikkelsen as the series’ big bad, Grindelwald; Potter adapter Steve Kloves was brought aboard to share co-writing credits with Rowling. Tellingly, the year preceding The Secrets Of Dumbledore has involved a concerted effort, via anniversaries and reunion specials, to recapture the magic — a tacit acknowledgement of how much of it has been lost in recent years. So comes the multi-million-dollar question: can The Secrets Of Dumbledore possibly hope to reconjure some of it?
The answer, just about, is a yes — if not a resounding one. This is at least an improvement on The Crimes Of Grindelwald, in many ways a corrective to that film’s aimless narrative, garbled exposition and unearned character decisions. While chunks of Secrets still feel muddily plotted, there’s more fun to be had along the way, packing in some impressive wizard duel sequences, and a major beast-based set-piece that justifies the franchise’s overarching title.
The MVP, though, is Jude Law’s Dumbledore –he brings much-needed sparkle to proceedings, his Gambon-esque, twinkly warmth offset by a sense of unknowability.
Some of that obscure(ial) plotting can be forgiven — often a feature more than a bug, since The Secrets Of Dumbledore positions itself as a spy thriller amid a brewing magical war. With the wizard-supremacist rhetoric of Grindelwald (whose new Mikkelsen-shaped appearance is no more remarked upon than that of Michael Gambon’s Dumbledore in The Prisoner Of Azkaban) gaining ground, Dumbledore (Jude Law) hatches a plan of counter-attack — and lest his pawns be captured, nobody is given the full picture. So it is that magizoologist Newt (Eddie Redmayne), his Auror brother Theseus (Callum Turner), assistant Bunty (Victoria Yeates), muggle baker Jacob (Dan Fogler), Ilvermorny teacher Lally (Jessica Williams, a likeable newcomer), and the mysterious Yusuf (William Nadylam) are split into groups on intersecting missions, masterminded by the wizarding legend. How it all fits together is on a need-to-know basis.
It would be nice for the audience to know, too — but despite an overstuffed plot, Dumbledore’s game of wizarding chess is a mostly entertaining one. Newt remains an admirably ambling hero, introspective but good-natured, and his interplay with his cooler, calmer big brother is nicely played (“You’re not swivelling properly!” Newt chides when the pair are forced to dance for a crowd of murderous, lobster-like manticores). Fogler’s Jacob, too, remains a franchise highlight as the outsider looking in on the Wizarding World —here given his own wand and stepping inside Hogwarts’ hallowed halls, wish fulfilment at its highest.
The MVP, though, is Jude Law’s Dumbledore. He’s not quite the central character (the film lacks one, splitting focus between Dumbledore, Newt and Grindelwald; Ezra Miller’s Credence features less prominently than expected), but he brings much-needed sparkle to proceedings, his Gambon-esque, twinkly warmth offset by a sense of unknowability. His opening confrontation with Grindelwald alone bears more chemistry and tension than the entire previous film — and yes, the pair’s former romance is now, finally, acknowledged.
For all the charm here — fan-favourite Niffler, Teddy and Pickett the Bowtruckle get a heroic moment; the deer-like Qilin is totally adorable — The Secrets Of Dumbledore still feels a way off the heights of Potter. It’s tonally imbalanced, fantastical whimsy butting heads with Star Wars prequel-esque political plotting and moments of full Bambi beast-based brutality. Despite some stylish sequences, Yates’ direction (his seventh franchise entry) feels flat — embedding us in the Wizarding World often results in the magical being rendered mundane. But with answers regarding Credence’s lineage and a hopeful finale that sets a promising stage for a fourth (and perhaps final) chapter, Secrets offers glimmers of a phoenix-like resurrection. Mischief more or less managed.
