Fantastic Beasts 2 reviews: ‘WORST film in Harry Potter series’ – but ‘glimmers of magic’

The film, starring Eddie Redmayne, has been certified Rotten on reviews aggregator Rotten Tomatoes; which monitors critics to gauge a common consensus. It has a 55% score at time of writing, which is the lowest of any movie in the Harry Potter Wizarding World franchise. The summary reads: “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald has glimmers of the magic familiar to Harry Potter fans, but the story’s spell isn’t as strong as earlier instalments.”

The New York Times said: “Rowling has surrendered to her maximalist tendencies and so cluttered up the story that you spend far too much time trying to untangle who did what to whom and why.”

Time Out gave a three-out-of-five score and said: “With its callbacks to the Potter universe and a lovely eye for detail, The Crimes of Grindelwald has bags of intermittent charm and a warm familiarity.

“But too often, it feels like a beast that’s been overburdened.”

The Los Angeles Times claimed the blockbuster “offers up dazzling feats of sorcery and realms of wonderment and manages to conjure the very opposite of magic.”

In a more positive write-up, the Hollywood Reporter beamed: “That the film remains enticing despite its evolving, still-pallid hero speaks to Rowling’s storytelling strengths.”

And USA Today said: “As much as the new sequel bridges gaps to various Potter lineages and personalities, it also ties into real-world history in intriguing fashion.”

And The Wrap wrote: “The Crimes of Grindelwald probably had enough plot to drive a four-hour mini-series, but even so, what we get is often absorbing and grand.”

The Guardian gave three stars and called the film “saggy”.

“This Fantastic Beasts film is as watchable and entertaining as expected and it’s an attractive Christmas event, but some of the wonder, novelty and sheer narrative rush of the first film has been mislaid in favour of a more diffuse plot focus, spread out among a bigger ensemble cast,” they argued.

The Telegraph gave only two stars and likened it to Star Wars: The Phantom Menace in the poor prequel stakes.

“The biggest riddle… is working out what on earth the film is actually about,” they quipped.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is out on November 16.