{"id":13356,"date":"2022-04-05T16:00:31","date_gmt":"2022-04-05T14:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1619550"},"modified":"2022-04-05T16:34:11","modified_gmt":"2022-04-05T14:34:11","slug":"fantastic-beasts-the-secrets-of-dumbledore-review-still-missing-the-magic","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/fantastic-beasts-the-secrets-of-dumbledore-review-still-missing-the-magic\/","title":{"rendered":"Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore review \u2013 Still missing the magic"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Patrick Cremona\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 05 April 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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<\/div> 3.0 out of 5 star rating<\/span> <\/span> <\/div> <\/div>

It\u2019s hard to argue with the fact that public appetite for the Fantastic Beasts films isn\u2019t anywhere near as high as it once was. Whereas the first film in the series \u2013 released back in December 2016 \u2013 was fairly warmly received, the second fared far less well with critics, and a number of factors have since conspired to ensure demand for the third entry hasn\u2019t exactly been deafening.<\/span><\/p>\n

But now, more than three years after the previous film \u2013 and with a key casting change in a major role \u2013 that third entry has arrived. In Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore<\/a>, we rejoin Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law), and co for another magical period adventure that takes them to places as far-flung as Berlin, Bhutan, and Hogsmeade as they<\/span> continue the fight against dark wizard and Dumbledore\u2019s former flame Gellert Grindelwald.<\/span><\/p>\n

This time around, the villain is aiming to enhance his standing in the wizarding world by running to be the new head of the International Confederation of Wizards, after he is cleared of his various crimes by the current chief due to a supposed lack of evidence.<\/span><\/p>\n

A<\/span>s for the Fantastic Beasts of the title, the key magical creature on this occasion is a Qilin \u2013 a beast borrowed from Chinese mythology which plays a major role in the plan to foil Grindelwald\u2019s rise.<\/span><\/p>

After the extremely convoluted nature of the second film, it\u2019s a relief to discover that the narrative is far more streamlined this time around, with a fairly contained storyline that for the most part manages to be relatively coherent.<\/p>\n

Perhaps this is a result of Steve Kloves\u2019 influence \u2013 the former Harry Potter screenwriter has been drafted in to assist JK Rowling, and the result is something that has a much better shape and structure.<\/p>\n

There are other virtues too: Eddie Redmayne\u2019s Newt feels a lot less incidental to the action than he did in the previous entry, and there are several moments that work a treat in terms of pure entertainment value \u2013 especially a riotous scene in which Newt must perform a bizarre dance to ensnare some pesky creatures during a vital rescue mission.<\/p>\n

And yet some of the other issues remain. The film is still too long, while the script continues to regularly fall into the pitfalls of telling rather than showing \u2013 too often falling back on exposition when filling in assorted backstories.<\/p>\n

It also doesn\u2019t always strike the right balance between dark Harry Potter prequel and fun magical animal romp, and much of the action seems to have little significance in terms of the overall arc of the series.<\/p>\n