Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

This is a great spin-off. Fantastic Beasts builds on the Harry Potter world, but doesn't rely on it. That is, we are fully in the world of wizards and muggles (or Nomags, as the Americans refer to them) but if you have not even heard of the Harry Potter series, but are just a fan of fantasy this film makes sense. Eddie Redmayne plays Newt Scamander, one of those european wizards who is on his first visit to the US. As he enters New York, he stumbles upon some wizarding troubles, and exposes the true purpose of his visit, while making friends with likeminded odd wizards and muggles. Redmayne is excellent as the diminutive, scholarly wizard who just loves his creatures and, like many good wizards, diminutive generally means deceptively powerful and sneaky. There are some great actions scenes and some laughter, but not much thinking. I suppose you can decide if that makes for a good fantasy film or an excellent one. I will rank this good.

4 stars (out of 5)