Fantastic Beasts: Secrets of Dumbledore

Siriusly?

Sun, Jun 19 2022, 5:52 am

So, I finally got around to watching it and…. Let’s just say I was disappointed? Soooo many things left hanging, unexplained, etc… curious to know what other people thought.

Just a few points:
Lally is a great character but where did she spring up from? Why was she specifically included in the team?

How did credence and aberforth get in touch/ initiate their mirror conversation?

What on earth happened with credence and dumbledore’s fight in some mirrored version of their location, how did they get in and out of that place?

Why did bunty have a special mission to go and get the suitcase duplicated (seemingly by a muggle?) when there is literally a spell to duplicate things? And, why couldn’t she show the guy the inside of the suitcase when we know from the first movie that it has a switch that makes it look like a regular suitcase on the inside? Also also, she asked for half a dozen copies, which including the original makes 7… there were not 7 in that scene.

Why was the room of requirement necessary? They could’ve taken a portkey from literally anywhere.

Whatever was the point of the whole side thing with Theseus getting captured? And how was the tie portkey that they didn’t know was a portkey so perfectly timed to go off at the right time?

In general, all of their individual special missions in the first half of the movie seem pointless. What exactly did Yusuf achieve?

How did newt and grindelwalds people know a) the location of this super rare qilin and b) that it was giving birth at that time?

Also, fluke that one of the candidates was pure of heart enough for the qilin to bow? I mean, finding someone like that has got to be super rare, and it’s so unlikely to be a politician. So hard to believe that they were able to use qilins for this purpose to choose every leader in the past… (besides that I’m unclear how dumbledore was worthy… imho should’ve bowed for Jacob or newt)

I have many more questions but gotta go now, really interested in thoughts!

Siriusly?

Sun, Jun 19 2022, 7:23 am

I honestly don’t know what to tell you. I also wasn’t the greatest fan of crimes of grindelwald, I thought the only way it could possibly be redeemed was by having all of its hanging questions resolved in a spectacular way in secrets… and that really wasn’t the case. Honestly it seems like they were treating this movie series as a tv show with weekly episodes, which would allow for an episode or two to be used as buildup for a conclusion and not a standalone story. But movies that are spaced 4 years apart don’t work like that! They need to have their own substance, and I really don’t feel like they do. Real shame because the first one held so much promise.

As to questions being answered in the next one, well, we didn’t see that happen with the last one, and now there may not even be a next one!

amother

Starflower

Sun, Jun 19 2022, 8:45 am

I was annoyed that Lally basically replaced Tina who showed up for 30 seconds at the end. Although I heard the actress that played Tina wasn't well and couldn't really film so much this time around.

I do think it was better than Crimes of Grindelwald in that it did have a more cohesive story and did recapture some of the charm of the first movie by centering at least a creature again (although why have they forgotten about Newt's case? Wish we'd go back inside more than just 20 seconds). Also I liked Mads Mikkelson, I think he did a great job. However, the movie still left a lot to be desired, I think you mostly covered the issues. Honestly, I think they filmmakers have really failed to understand the point of the franchise and keep trying to shoehorn pointless fan service instead of making this spinoff its own, and it shows.

They will finish the series because a complete franchise makes more money than an incomplete one (in terms of licensing and merchendizing.) But I don't really expect them to make good movies at this point.

Siriusly?

Sun, Jun 19 2022, 5:19 pm

It definitely had a story, which crimes didn’t, but the I felt that the story fell flat because so much stuff happened that either wasn’t explained, or just didn’t need to happen to further the story.

I agree that mads mikkelson made a fantastic grindelwald and Eddie redmayne, Jude law and Dan fogler are all great actors with great characters, the filmmakers didn’t do them justice at all.

More wonderings:
Um, what happened to the Nagini subplot?

How does grindelwald know about the baby swap? He should think that the dumbledore baby was drowned at sea, leta never told anyone ( question from the last movie, but it wasn’t answered in this one either).

What happened to the prophecy in crimes? I really thought that “return great avenger with wings from the water” would come up again, because all the trailers ended with a phoenix made of water splashing across the screen but nope… almost no small plot details carried over from one movie to the next.

amother

Starflower

Sun, Jun 19 2022, 7:39 pm

Siriusly? wrote:

Grindelwald is a Seer, so he could have learned the info that way.

The Nagini thing is a perfect illustration of pointless fan service! She served pretty much no purpose at all and then didn't show up at all in the new movie. It was like she was in there just for an excuse to namedrop lol. Basically, they fell HARD into the classic prequel trap, where they rely on lazy fan service instead of trusting the new characters and new stories to stand on their own.

imorethanamother

Wed, Jun 22 2022, 9:16 pm

I just finished watching it, and I really disliked it.

I think Johnny Depp has a charisma that's unmatched. You get the sense that he's dangerous and threatening and a loose cannon, with the ability to really sway the masses. This Grindelwald seemed bored and tame, and I honestly thought he looked like the German minister's twin for most of the movie. He has the charisma of a fly, and I don't know why anyone was interested in following him.

The big showdown between Dumbledore and Grindelwald was boring. Swish and flick and it's done. Contrast that to the showdown between Dumbledore and Voldemort in the Ministry of Magic. Heck, contrast that to what Grindelwald did in Crimes.

Also, I know JK Rowling has a sense of character and continuity that's unparalleled, but it doesn't make sense that Aberforth has a secret kid that he could care less about. He's protective and kind, and wouldn't have let a child of his be abandoned in the world to be raised in cruelty - that was the whole point of his big reveal in book 7. That he had the heart, Dumbledore had the brain.

In the last movie, Grindelwald latched onto this idea that Credence was from the Dumbledore family in order to use his powers against Dumbledore. But he was somehow right?? And that Credence had untold powers, but literally everyone is safe from Credence. Random aurors in the last movie repel his magic with ease, Dumbledore barely broke a sweat. Why would Grindelwald seek to use the obscurus when it seems to serve no real higher purpose?

Ugh. I don't like this whole franchise. I don't like young Dumbledore. I don't like young Grindelwald (no grinning blond rascal like he was portrayed in HP). I don't like Queenie/Kowalski romeo and juliet ridiculous manufactured drama. And Newt should just fall in love with Bunty - she'll be the only one who ever understands him.