Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is a 2022 fantasy adventure film that continues with the adventures of Newt Scamander.
Directed by David Yates (The Crimes of Grindelwald; Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) from a screenplay written by J.K. Rowling and Steve Kloves, based on the former’s story. Produced by Heyman, Steve Kloves, Lionel Wigram, Tim Lewis and J.K. Rowling.
The movie stars Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law, Mads Mikkelsen, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Callum Turner, Jessica Williams, William Nadylam and Katherine Waterston.
Plot:
Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) and his crew team up with Dumbledore (Jude Law) and are brought to Hogwarts, the wizarding school central to the Harry Potter series.
Along the way, they become embroiled in a magic-related heist, encounter new beasts and learn more of the backstory between Dumbledore and the villainous Gellert Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen)…
Reviews:
” …despite Yates’ attractive orchestration, costumer Colleen Atwood’s impeccable, era-appropriate menswear-leaning garments, and the magical production design by Stuart Craig and Neil Lamont, the magic-focused film series never quite finds the enchanted spark that made the Harry Potter franchise so urgently essential.” AV Club
“Secrets of Dumbledore shows an impressive willingness to mess with the HP formula (and formulas in general). It’s a work in progress and within a whisker of being fantastic. Note to Warners: don’t panic. There may be dark days ahead, in terms of box office receipts. But Rowling’s got this…” Evening Standard
“The Secrets of Dumbledore is another very amiable and lovely-looking fantasy adventure with some great production design and visual effects, especially in the New York scenes. But it’s not about “secrets” as much as new IP-franchise narrative components shuffled into the ongoing content and shuffled out again. Yet there is certainly something intriguing about the questions arising…” *** out of ***** The Guardian
“While a few magical creatures make appearances — one is even central to Dumbledore and Grindelwald’s plans — they are by no means the anchor. This installment revolves around Dumbledore, a more interesting character than the series’ purported hero, Newt. That shift focuses the film’s narrative, but it doesn’t do much for those of us trying to figure out the purpose of the series.” The Hollywood Reporter
“While Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore finally makes Dumbledore canonically gay, it does little else of note, remaining scattered across half a dozen inconsequential subplots for most of its runtime. It looks drab and feels like it was made by people who want to leave its magical premise behind, even though the series refuses to have anything resembling grown-up politics or perspectives.” 4/10 IGN
” …Newt’s piece of the plot has the same blandness as its aesthetic: Series director David Yates conveys that this part of the story is set in the past by grading everything to a desiccated gray or brown. It’s difficult to imagine a real-life child being dazzled by this movie, and it’s depressing to realize that the intended audience here is probably IP loyalists too old for kid stuff, yet unwilling to leave this universe behind.” Polygon
” …the film arrives at an unexpectedly understated finale, the full impact of which may take a moment to register — an indication that Yates appreciates the fine art of subtlety. But it is also a reminder that this sequel largely feels like well-made busywork, preparing us for potential dramatic riches down the line — which may or may not ever be fully conjured up.” Screen Daily
“There’s an uncomplicated pleasure in watching Newt and Theseus scuttle like crabs across a cliff face, trying to get a mob of pincered creatures to mimic their movements. As a smoothly built action flick, this enterprise is endearingly perky, but as a meaningful contribution from Rowling to the Harry Potter universe, well, 10 points from Slytherin.” ** out of **** Slant
“So many sequences here feel like free-floating trailer fodder: surplus to plot requirements, but too expensive to cut. Why do Redmayne and Turner spend around 15 minutes dancing with scorpions in a cave? […] Meanwhile, doses of Potter nostalgia are methodically positioned along the route like bolts on a climbing wall, to give the otherwise bamboozled viewer something to cling to.” 2/5 The Telegraph
“Three-fifths of the way through this series, ugly, ungainly enchantment overload is clearly the agreed-upon aesthetic, as Rowling and Kloves again come up with a plot that’s considerably more complicated than it needs to be […] Somewhere along the way […] this franchise stopped being fun.” Variety
Release:
Warner Bros. has scheduled Fantastic Beasts: Secrets of Dumbledore for global theatrical release on April 15, 2022.
Cast and characters:
Mads Mikkelsen … Gellert Grindelwald
Jude Law … Albus Dumbledore
Katherine Waterston … Tina Goldstein
Eddie Redmayne … Newt Scamander
Ezra Miller … Credence Barebone / Aurelius Dumbledore
Alison Sudol … Queenie Goldstein
Dan Fogler … Jacob Kowalski
Callum Turner … Theseus Scamander
Oliver Masucci
Jessica Williams … Eulalie Hicks
Poppy Corby-Tuech … Rosier
Richard Coyle
Victoria Yeates … Bunty
Wilf Scolding … Workman
Emilia Karlsson … Ministry Guest
Jeremy Azis … German Muggle 24
Sean Talo … Ministry Wizard
Technical details:
2 hours 22 minutes
Audio: Dolby Atmos | IMAX 6-Track | Dolby Digital| DTS
Aspect ratio: 1.85: 12.39:1
For trailers, clips and featurettes visit page 2
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