Filled with intrigue, suspense, and laughter, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald checked all the boxes. The movie was released on Nov. 16 and exceeded fans’ expectations through both the characters’ personalities and multiple plot twists. Coming into the movie with low expectations, I was delighted and impressed to find that unlike most movie sequels, this movie not only remained at the same level as the first but took it a notch higher. Many movie sequels let fans down as the number of movies increase, since the quality and entertainment decreases, yet this movie increased both the quality and entertainment through it’s new ideas, characters, and cinematography.

The highly anticipated Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald picked up after the suspenseful end of the first Fantastic Beasts movie and led the audience through a journey with Newt Scamander, who fought and attempted to stop the dangerous villain Grindelwald. The movie started slow and had a slightly confusing plot at first, yet as it developed, the plot thickened and the story became clearer. The story went back and forth to multiple characters’ point of views, which added depth to the movie. There were many twists and conflicting characters that pulled and played with the audience’s emotions. The film kept the viewers on the edge of their seats as they watched the plot develop and the characters travel to different cities in search of Grindelwald.

Eddie Redmayne played Newt Scamander and continued to truly capture the essence of the brave and kind nature of Scamander’s character. Redmayne incorporated bits of humor into the action-packed movie as he chased after Tina Goldstein, his romantic interest from the first movie. One exciting new cast member introduced in the film was Jude Law, who played Albus Dumbledore. His strong depiction of young Dumbledore portrays the older character we know and love from Harry Potter. In the original Harry Potter movies, Dumbledore was shown as the greatest and strongest wizard that all villains feared. Law managed to keep that image in young Dumbledore through his strong language and intimidating posture. Johnny Depp portrayed Grindelwald and was exceptional in his role of an intimidating villain. Depp wore contacts to show Grindelwald having two different colored eyes, which helped his image as the evil wizard. Through his sharp and sly words, Depp showed Grindelwald as evil, cunning, and the exact type of wizard you would hope to never encounter. Jacob Kowalski returned, and was portrayed by Dan Fogler, and he continued to entertain the audience with his sweet and innocent disposition. The casting of the movie was perfect as each actor matched their character and made the movie better with their gestures and speech. The movie would not have been the hit it was if the characters were portrayed by any other set of actors.

Watching the movie took fans back into the wizarding world with magic and intrigue. It was filled with plot twists and complex storylines, which was one of the things fans loved about the original Harry Potter films. Many references to the original series were also hidden within this movie, including the Hogwarts castle and a mention of McLaggen (a character in the fourth Harry Potter movie). These Easter eggs were well done as it added a level of creativity by allowing the audience to look for them and connect them back to the original movies.

Not only were the actors well-cast, the movie was beautifully filmed. The filmmakers managed to show numerous beasts, animals, and magical scenes that had to be created with CGI. One especially well-made beast was the Zouwu, a Chinese legendary creature. It is a huge feline with a striped body, four fangs, and a gigantic tail. This creature was so magnificent that viewers were able to distinguish each piece of fur on its body and the large, sharp claws on its feet. Many extensive fighting scenes had to be mainly CGI, due to the magic sparks flying from the fighting wands. These scenes were wonderful and it was practically impossible to tell that the magic wasn’t real. In addition to the creatures and magic being elaborately done with CGI, there were many other scenes that were well-filmed. With the many cities shown in the film, there was an impressive aerial shot to go along with each one.

Overall, the movie was exceptionally filmed with many twists and turns, challenging the viewers to keep up. The actors presented their individual roles so well that it helped the movie become the best it could be. The movie ended with a spectacular cliff-hanger, in order to keep fans interested and waiting for the next film. Wonderfully made and executed, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald handles multiple storylines and plot twists well. If you’re looking for action, comedy, and magic all in one, this movie is the one to watch.