Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. Today we’re going to ONCE
AGAIN be discussing the third installment of the Fantastic Beasts franchise- Fantastic Beasts:
Secrets of Dumbledore. The film just came out in North America a few days ago, and by this
point it’s come out in theatres across MOST of the world- so I thought it’d be a good time to release
a list of my pros and cons- limiting myself to just 5 of each. If you want a full-scale review
AND breakdown, I’ve done that as well- I’ll leave a link down in the pinned comment.
I’ll be alternating PROS with CONS as to not overly hype up or bog down the experience.
Let’s get in to it.
Pro #1: Actors, Characters & Casting
Starting things off on a good note, the first thing that I’d like to point out
is that both the acting and casting in the Fantastic Beasts films is excellent.
Before this latest film Jude Law already smashed it as young Dumbledore,
as did Eddie Redmayne who plays Newt Scamander. However- this latest film includes several
NEW main actors to the Fantastic beasts series- including Mads Mikkelsen and Jessica Williams.
Mads Mikkelsen took over for Johnny Depp in the role of Grindelwald and man, all I can say is that
he absolutely killed it. I thought Johnny was good too, but I’m personally of the impression
that Mads was made for this role. His seamless performance as Grindelwald was a HUGE pro for me
and it honestly felt as if he had actually been in the previous films.
On a separate note, I felt that the inclusion of new witch Eulalie Hicks was a great choice. Hicks,
played by Jessica Williams, is an Ilvermorny professor who ends up helping the protagonists,
and there is a certain charm surrounding her character. I think she was a wonderful addition.
Con #1: No Tina?
…or BARELY any Tina anyway. When the Secrets of Dumbledore trailers were first coming out,
and no one could find Tina Goldstein in them, it was a bit worrisome. However, as time went on,
and as I thought about it more, I figured she HAD to be in the film. I said this to myself because
Queenie (her sister) is in the trailer She was a LARGE part of the first 2 films
And We know that she eventually marries Newt
So- bearing all that in mind, I must say that I was quite surprised when Tina
was so very absent from the story. The explanation? Tina was promoted.
This doesn’t make sense at all. Her sister is in danger, the wizarding world is in danger,
and Newt (her love-interest) is in danger. Why on earth wouldn’t she be there to help? What
could be more important? She shows up at the end, but I’d rather she didn’t with that explanation.
Regardless of how you feel about Tina’s character this was a big con.
Pro #2: Soundtrack
I’m going to keep this one brief as it speaks for itself-
the MUSIC. James Newton Howard did the soundtrack for the Secrets of Dumbledore
and he absolutely smashed it- capturing the magic perfectly. A poor soundtrack can so profoundly
impact the ‘feel’ of the film, and with a film like Harry Potter, which depicts a magical world,
this becomes even more important. No complaints at all from me here.
Con #2: Qilin bows to Dumbledore
In this film we’re introduced to a creature called a ‘Qilin’ which holds the special ability
to recognize those that are pure of heart. In order to acknowledge that an individual
is pure of heart, the Qilin will BOW to them- and this is an important part of the election
that takes place in the film. At one point, when the real Qilin surfaces, it walks around
the election site trying to find a worthy witch or wizard, and finally- it stops at Dumbledore,
who it then bows to. This doesn’t make sense to me because it’s highlighted in the film
that barely anyone is entirely ‘pure of heart’ and that for the Qilin to bow to you, you’ve got to
basically be a saint. This completely contradicts Dumbledore’s character, who we know to have quite
a dark history. Dumbledore is mostly good these days, but he’s certainly no saint- particularly
if he at ANY TIME plotted to take over the wizarding world. I don’t quite understand this.
Pro #3: Brings magic back to the franchise
I mentioned this in my full review, but I want to emphasize that this film
felt WAY MORE Harry Potter-y. Yes the Fantastic Beasts films are PREQUELS and SEPARATE (important
distinctions to be aware of)- but that doesn’t mean that filmmakers can’t bridge the gap
between the two film franchises. Though still very different feeling than Harry Potter itself,
I definitely felt magic in this film that the previous 2 installments were lacking.
This was a HUGE one for me.
Con #3: Nagini
Some people probably didn’t even notice this, but Nagini was completely stripped from this
film and there was absolutely NO explanation. In the previous film Nagini became quite close with
Credence, and it also started to look like she would become a more prominent character.
We know that later on, once the Harry Potter story’s timeline sets in,
that Nagini becomes a prevalent character- Voldemort’s trusty serpentine companion.
But when The Crimes of Grindelwald ended Nagini wasn’t yet trapped as a snake (the result of her
Maledictus curse)- so it’s confusing that she’s just been removed with no in-universe explanation.
Pro #4: Expanding the Dumbledore Family
I mentioned this in my review as well,
but I think it’s extremely exciting that one of the most enigmatic wizarding families - the
Dumbledore’s - are having an adjustment made to their family tree. Time will tell what
happens to Credence- but this does open up a big can of worms, and it’s quite exciting.
Con #4: Queenie’s Redemption
In the last film, Queenie Goldstein- Tina’s sister,
has a large argument with her (NOW) husband Jacob over his unwillingness to marry her. This leads to
her disapparating to Paris where she ends up having a run-in with Grindelwald’s acolytes.
Long story short, Queenie makes an extremely misguided decision when she chooses to join
Grindelwald in the hopes of building a future where she CAN be with Jacob. Queenie seemed
‘good’ up to this point, and she can READ MINDS, so this decision of hers didn’t make much sense.
This brings us to the Secrets of Dumbledore. Queenie’s role as one of Grindelwald’s acolytes
is essentially to read the mind of Credence, who Grindelwald hopes he will be able to use
as a weapon against Dumbledore. Beyond that, Queenie’s significance in the film is LOW.
But what I found annoying is just how quickly Queenie was redeemed. It seems like one moment
she was evil, and the next she was back with Jacob as if nothing had happened. I don’t think that she
necessarily deserved to be redeemed quite so quickly and I wish they focused on this more.
Pro #5: The Right Direction
Though the Secrets of Dumbledore film is being criticized quite heavily, I do feel as though
these films are really beginning to head in the right direction. Where the first film contributed
very little to the Harry Potter universe as a whole, we’re progressively getting more and more
of a sense of what life in the wizarding world was like before Harry Potter, and more importantly
what the foundations of things were like. We’re getting DEEP in to the lore and I’m here for it.
Con #5: Yusuf Kama
In this film Dumbledore gives all of the protagonists a different task in the ultimate
goal of defeating / confusing Grindewald. One of these protagonists is Yusuf Kama,
whose task is basically to infiltrate Grindelwald’s people.
Yusuf’s role in the film seems very insignificant and unimportant, only really ‘helping out’ at one
moment towards the end when he helps Lally and Theseus in defeating Grindelwald’s acolytes.
Honestly, I think it was just a waste of his character.
And that’s it for this video!
Do you agree with these? What are YOUR pros and cons? Comment down below
Until next time
Remember
We must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy