[Confession] Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
As the familiar theme song plays, a dark and misty title slowly zooms in and greets me like an old friend. I knew then and there that something in me was rekindled. The Harry Potter geek in me came back and it made me grin from ear to ear as soon as it started.
I had the honor to attend the Premiere Night of the much awaited movie of Harry Potter nerdies like me: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them Directed by David Yates. The story comes from the Passionate Magizoologist Newton Artemis Fido "Newt" Scamander (played by Eddie Redmayne), whose interest moves him to great lengths of taking care and observing fantastic magical creatures he discovered over the years of traveling. The film opens in old New York City, 70 years before Harry's story started.
This expanded world of Harry Potter carries a new adventure and dimension of creature mythology and people who greatly values their statute of secrecy in 1926 New York City. As Newt Scamander enters New York with a quest, he exposes himself to Jacob Kawolski (played by Dan Fogler), who is a No-Maj (An American term for Muggle or Non-Magic Folk) and a factory worker who aspires to be a baker. The story extends as Newt forgot to obliviate Jacob after witnessing his to and fro apparition with his cute defiant creatures. There enters Porpentina "Tina" Goldstein (played by Katherine Waterstone) an ex-auror who wanted to turn in Newt to MACUSA (The Magical Congress of the United States of America) for bringing dangerous creatures to New York and unleashing them in the process. So now I know who inspired Hagrid. Haha!
The premise of the film confused me a bit - maybe because of the little information given both from the synopsis and from the non-existent book that I have yet to find - that I wasn't able to grasp the first few minutes of the film. Maybe because this is a whole new era where unlike the Harry Potter series, we have yet to learn the environment and the words they express since it's from a time that no longer exists. However, as I get to register the things happening, I knew I was on the right track. Newt Scamander's love and care for magical creatures takes us to a whole new level of magic as he fight for the right that magical creatures must be understood and not feared.
This is also the time that Gellert Grindelwald, the greatest dark wizard before You-Know-Who, is at large. This is why the MACUSA is doubling and tripling their security measures because it risks their statute of secrecy. The incognito mode of Grindelwald in the film made us believe that he won't be appearing anytime soon but just a heads up - I didn't imagine Grindelwald ever having a silver/white hair! And he looks so cool for a dark wizard compared to the no-nose You-Know-Who. Hahaha!
Anyway, the roller coaster ride of special effects made me shock in awe because of how advanced it appeared. Looking back from the time they made Harry Potter films in 2001 and now, I'd say it's a big step to new media and it's looking great ahead. I think there's an irony for the fact that Director Yates, who has become the Harry Potter film interpreter of J.K. Rowling's stories, has shown the most outside of the box ideas in the movie where he was given the least material to work with. Hm, yeah.
I would just like to reflect on Kowalski's character in the end. It felt like a Harry Potter fan coming back to reality and wakes up from the daydream of the book he read - and it's a freakin mental slap in the face, I tell you. It's bittersweet. I'm just wishing books of this series will be out soon!!
So I recommend this to those Potterheads and non-Potterheads (who just wants to know what's up) whose appetite are ravenous for more magic! We may not see Harry and the gang anymore nonetheless, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them suffice the need for a dream too good to be true in the place where we all want to live at least once in out life. And I'd be lying if I say I'm not craving for a sequel right now! Gimme 'em!!
My Rating:
Plot: 9.8/10
Acting: 9.5/10
Cinematography: 9.5/10
Characters: 10/10
Uniqueness: 10/10
OVERALL RATING: 9.8