8.5/10
When I sat down in overly air conditioned cinema I expected to be greeted with the familiar Hogwarts grounds that Rowling so brilliantly created, only to be faced with something quite the opposite.
Based in 1920s New York, the film follows Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) who has just stopped for a short visit that is planned to be uneventful. The only thing that is a slight fault in his trip is his old fashioned briefcase and its contents. Filled to the brim with magical creatures of all sorts, what could happen if he accidentally lets some loose? With the help of disgraced Porpentina Goldstein and a muggle ( non magical) named Jacob Kowalski could he possibly recapture them, or will that be the least of his worries?
Possibly one of the most intriguing characters was Newt: his awkwardness and clumsiness is something that you can’t take your eyes off. I was constantly rooting for him even when his ignorance got the best of him.
My first initial thought of this movie was that I was a bit disappointed, not because of the characters or the new, researched magical creatures but because there was no familiarity from the beloved Potter series. After I dwelled on this intricate film I came to the conclusion that you can only expand on one part of a series so much, so when Rowling decided to develop the wizarding world further I figured that there is so much more to see of Rowling’s fabulous mind.
