‘Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore’ magically misaligned

The wizarding world is a remarkable treasure trove of fiction. The original story of Harry Potter opened the door to a realm of infinite potential with a rich and detailed mythology. It’s puzzling then that a series with the ability to go anywhere repeatedly returns to the same well.

What started as the misadventures of the world’s foremost magizoologist has shifted focus to the rise of the great Albus Dumbledore, and the fall of his jilted lover. Their squabble turns ideological with Gellert Grendelwald out for war. The film pits Mads Mikkelsen and Jude Law in a fight to win the hearts and minds of their wizarding friends and neighbours. Through a series of plotting and counterplotting, the movie becomes a delightful battle of wits, one that’s hampered by the film’s competing storylines.

Throughout the massive story the film is consistently bleak. For the more dramatic scenes, it’s impactful giving you magical characters with a sense of humanity. More fanciful elements don’t fare quite as well, as the movie asks the audience to take seriously an election decided by a two-foot-tall horse who can sense purity of heart.

The precocious balance of dread and delight is struck once in the film, where Eddie Redmayne’s Newt Scamader puts his magical Ace Ventura skills to good use. Trapped in a scorpion-infested cave, facing certain death with a wry smile. It’s tense yet light, and ultimately bittersweet, showing a side of the movie that’s woefully underserved.

For what may be the final visit to the Wizarding World, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore feels less like a work of authorship, and more like an exercise in franchise course correction. The movie has a finality to several of its plot threads that would be better served with the breathing room of a sprawling saga. This film attempts to do the work of three films in the runtime of one, and it suffers as a result.

Rating: High Catch It On Cable