Kherz’den Humphrey
Editor-In-Chief
Loyalty without refrain, love despite complications, a blood oath and politics. Directed by David Yates, Fantastic Beasts: Secrets of Dumbledore is the third, and most exciting installment of the Fantastic Beasts series. The movie follows a young Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law), Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler) and many others as they work to stop Grindelwald from gaining control of the wizard world.
From start to finish, Secrets of Dumbledore is action packed and full of surprises. Lovers turned enemies, a secret love child, mythical creatures and reunited lovers. There is something new or exciting revealed every few minutes and you can never be too sure what is going to happen next.
There are also several easter eggs hidden in this movie that reference multiple of the Harry Potter movies. Some scenes are almost replicated versions of those seen in Harry Potter, such as the magazine showing Sirius Black in Prisoner of Azkaban and Dumbledore sitting across the train station in the beginning of Half-Blood Prince. Not to forget some of the soundtrack is also the same.
We also get another look into Newt’s expertise in beasts and creatures when a few new ones are introduced. Of course, his trusty sidekicks, Pickett the Bowtruckle and Teddy the Niffler join him in this adventure as well. They even help him out of a very troublesome situation this time.
A few new people are introduced in this movie, including Mads Mikkelsen who replaced Johnny Depp as Gellert Grindelwald, and Aberforth Dumbledore (Richard Coyle) makes a large appearance as well. But these are the only new ones, a whole fleet of new characters are brought in and they make quite a difference in the movie.
The movie lives up to its name as it continuously reveals secrets about Dumbledore’s personal life and his family. There are explanations and information given regarding Albus’ brother Aberforth and sister Ariana. Very early in the movie, a love interest of Albus’ is revealed as well, which ends up changing the outlook for the entire movie.
During the movie, there is a political election for the new leader of the magical world. However, there are three major factors that end up changing the election, and not for the better. Newt, Jacob and the rest of their group, attend multiple political events throughout the movie, each one adding a new element of surprise to the movie. You truly don’t know what to expect at each event, and it was evident with the gasps and murmurs heard throughout the theater.
Just like in the first Fantastic Beasts movie, Jacob tends to get the short end of the stick. However this time, he also gets a different kind of stick, one very unexpected. Jacob is given a wand from Dumbledore, and with him being a no-maj, this was very surprising.
Secrets of Dumbledore has a very light and heartwarming ending, which was much needed after all the action and battling that takes place through the entire thing. Like all smart movie-goers, I sat in my seat and waited until the lights were on and everyone else was leaving too. However, there were no after credit scenes that gave hints to a fourth movie.
Personally, I think the Fantastic Beast series should be continued, and should keep revealing stories about what happened prior to when the famous trio walked the halls of Hogwarts. Also, judging by one of the last things to happen in the movie, I don’t think the story is quite over yet.
This movie gives so many details and explanations while also keeping watchers entertained with action and even romance. It is truly something any Potterhead will enjoy. I’d give it a 9/10 rating, with a point deduction for the shameful replacement of Johnny Depp. However, it is still a fantastic movie, and is a definite must watch.
Leave a Reply