FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM (2016) Review
Directed by David Yates
Years after Harry Potter’s story concluded, who would’ve thought that another film adaptation of a story from the wizarding world will actually happen. And here we are, something fantastic just arrived in our theaters.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them isn’t like any of the Harry Potter films, but that’s great. It conjures magic in its own way, driving the audience into its full-blown exploration of the wizarding world. While the Potter films may delve into the wizarding school specifically Hogwarts and the big bad guy Voldemort, Fantastic Beasts introduces us to a peculiar wizard who likes monsters or beasts and tries to educate other witches and wizards on why they should be treated as pets or friends rather than monsters and be killed for being dangerous.
Newt Scamander arrives in New York, hoping to set free a beast and bring it back home. But it gets complicated as something bad is already happening in America, something evil kills and is threatening to reveal the existence of witches and wizards that live among us. Along with that, Newt accidentally swapped cases with a No-Maj (Muggles in Europe, non-magic folks), an unexpected friendship brews while they both embark on a fantastic adventure.
The film gives the fans and the audience a new look at the wizarding world, fresh faces, places and time. It’s a new era of magic, and it’s exciting. Eddie Redmayne’s odd but delightful portrayal of Newt Scamander is fun to watch from start to finish. It may end like it was all just a phase, but Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them is a thrilling installment of the wizarding world franchise and there’s no reason not to be excited for what’s about to come.
4 OUT OF 5 STARS
“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” is now showing in Philippine cinemas nationwide in 2D, 3D, 4D and IMAX 3D, from Warner Bros. Pictures. Rated PG by the MTRCB.