Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore

It's very clear, watching these movies, that they're adapted from a branded guidebook. They have all the dramatic interest and excitement of a manual.

This entertaining Harry Potter prequel buries memories of the Grindelwald disaster.

While perhaps the best Fantastic Beasts film, The Secrets of Dumbledore remains a dour movie with lots to say but not enough imagination or understanding to say it well.

Even taken on its own merits, its a case of a sequel too far Theres no getting away from the fact that, without Harry Potter, this (movie) doesnt seem to know where to go.

This one may well be better than “Where to Find Them,” which was a mite busy for its own good. Kicking off a franchise can have that effect.

If the series were to fizzle out, that would be a relief. No amount of movie magic can save it now.

The Secrets of Dumbledore is a rare film that somehow manages to be both overstuffed and undercooked simultaneously. It’s almost admirable how vacuous it is as a piece of storytelling.

[Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore] focuses more on generating nostalgia for the magic of the Harry Potter films than on giving it a creative spark to sustain the entertainment of its plot. [Full review in Spanish]

It might just be the best film of the spinoff franchise yet.

The magic has vanished...