Phantastische Tierwesen und wo sie zu finden sind

It was so boring....and One other thing: Actually it didnt have a story

It's OK, I suppose.

Good parts: Period costumes & sets were beautiful. Special effects were (mostly) very good, and the Fantastic Beasts were individually great fun.

So-so parts: The acting was only OK. Newt (Eddie Redmayne) in particular left me dissatisfied. Yes he's playing an introverted character, but I saw no reason for the bond he seemed to build with Tina. The MACUSA wizards & witches were extremely underdeveloped, including the President. Their hot-and-cold treatment of Tina for her interruptions made no sense to me either.

Poor: The editing seemed off to me, in a way I haven't noticed since The Chamber of Secrets. --- awkward pauses littered the film, robbing it of its momentum. Newt's interaction with some of the larger beasts didn't look realistic (e.g. his stroking the Thunderbird's neck). And I personally dislike FX-heavy movies where the Big Bad is some amorphous cloud (not as bad as Green Lantern, but pretty bad).

Final thought: why do so many large beasts have bird's heads? This seems to be a thing with Rowling ...

I admit walking into the theater, I was very excited but also a little apprehensive. I should not have worried at all though, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was incredibly enjoyable! Rowling's magical world is as alluring and fun as ever! For me, the best thing about this movie is exactly that. Exploring this world.

In the Harry Potter saga, with the exception of Deathly Hallows, most of the action was confined in Hogwarts. When we were taken out of the school, the main characters, being underage, were not allowed to do magic. The novelty in this movie is that we get to follow a fully fledged adult wizard in an entirely new environment and observe the dynamics and workings of the magical society.

Said wizard is Newt Scamander, a magical zoologist that traveled the world in order to find and document rare creatures, which he carries in his magical suitcase. When this suitcase gets mixed up with one that belongs to muggle Jacob, some of Newt's creatures escape and cause problems in New York.

Eddie Redmayne shines in this movie. He plays a very clearly British, endearing and slightly awkward Newt, but the character's kindness is obvious by the loving and friendly way that he treats his magical creatures. Dan Fogler does a great job as Jacob Kowalski, the muggle who is suddenly thrown into a world of wonder that existed beside him all along. He is the one the audience can best relate to, since he mirrors our sense of marvel. Katherine Waterstone and Alison Sudol also do a good job as the two vastly different magical sisters, who aid Newt in his adventure. If I had a small gripe, it would be that the excellent Colin Farell was in my opinion under used.

All in all, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a solid and visually stunning movie that manages to achieve three things.

First, although it takes place in the Harry Potter universe, it stands apart and has its very own story, which can be enjoyed separately from that of the famous young wizard. Second, it drops quite a few hints and names, which not only tie in nicely with the stories that we know, but also serve to set up the next installments, which are rumored to document Dumbledore's past and connection with Grindelwald. Finally, the movie features a bustling 1926 New York, which coupled with the intriguing character dynamics, offers a brand new insight into Rowling magical world and leaves us poor muggles asking for more.

After following Harry's adventures, many of us were left wanting to see much more of the story and luckily for us, it seems Rowling has that much more to offer. Personally, I can't wait for the next movie, great job!

I really want to draw attention to the title of the review above. I'm sure many die-hard potterheads would want every review on this site to score this movie 10/10 and say it is a masterpiece. Well I can't do that, since that isn't my honest opinion. What I can say though is that Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a thoroughly entertaining affair that is well worth a watch, especially if you're a fan of J.K. Rowling's magical world.

For starters the cast was great. Eddie Redmayne feels perfectly cast in main role as Newt Scamander. A very awkward and introverted person who prefers the company of animals rather than humans. He has the quirkyness down to a tee. I also really liked the muggle (or no-maj as the Americans call him) played by Dan Fogler. How he reacts to the whole wizarding world and the events that happen around him is actually really funny. I also thought Katherine Waterstone and Alison Sodul did great playing two sisters who wind up roped in to the whole adventure.

The creatures are the best part of the entire movie by far. They CGI on them looks kind of fake, but it's more than made up for by the concepts alone. Almost all of them have some clever twerk that keep them from feeling generic and they're all filled with personality. The sequences when they're catching these creatures are all really fun to watch.

However there are some problems with this movie. For one it has way too many side characters. A lot of them feel completely underdeveloped and add basically nothing to the overall story (*cough* Jon Voight *cough*). There's also a magical threat that becomes more central towards the end but it honestly kind of left me scratching my head. I just wasn't that engaged in that part of the story to be honest.

Still these problems are not enough to ruin the movie by any means. It's filled with wonder and creativity and being back in the world of witchcraft and wizardry is worth the price of admission alone. I enjoyed the characters, the humour and the creatures a whole lot. I also want to give J.K. Rowling huge credit for not just rehashing the Harry Potter story again. This is fresh and new and while it isn't flawless by any means it's certainly entertaining!

Having grown up with the Harry Potter books, and as someone who found a lot to like with all the films (though admittedly some were better than others), expectations were high for 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'. Especially also with such good word of mouth.

Those high expectations were met, and more. 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' serves as an introduction to the new era of the wizarding world, and not succeeds brilliantly doing that but also works as a magical slice of entertainment in its own. A long film it is, but a vast majority of the time it doesn't feel like it, so engrossing is the world that the film creates.

Not all's perfect. 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' takes a bit of time to get going, with a slow and overlong introduction that tended to also be confusingly written. Jon Voight is wasted as a character with not much personality or development and with a subplot that practically is forgotten about, both by the viewer and by the film. It is too early to tell how well Grindelwald will fare as a villain, but first impressions weren't that promising with Johnny Depp's performance not really igniting my fire, for somebody who specialises in oddball roles he just seemed too lightweight for such an evil character. This said, the future films I'm sure will turn this around if they keep going forward rather than backward.

'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' lives up to its name visually. The look of the film is spellbinding, from the wonderful use of colour, with perfectly contrasting shades of light and dark, to cinematography that is never garish and too simple or murky and convoluted, a standout of the latter being that long shot of Credence and Graves in the alley. The standout is easily for the interiors of the suitcase, our looks of awe matching the characters'. Even better are the special effects for the creatures, all of which are technical marvels. This said they are more than that, they are also creatures with their own distinct identity and purpose, as great as Demiguise, Occamy and Thunderbird the standout is the adorable Niffler who also provides some of the biggest and best laughs.

James Newton Howard's music score has the right amount of the haunting, the whimsical, the ethereal and the rousing, always dynamic with the action and what's going on in the film. The script has some grim social-commentary and suspense, which gives the film its darkness, while also bringing some perfectly pitched humour (mostly from Jacob and the Niffler), poignant emotion and sense of wonder, while balancing these different tones in a way that never makes one think "it's trying to be too many things" or "it doesn't know what it wants to be". The references to details from Harry Potter will make die-hard fans squeal with delight, they certainly gave me a sense of nostalgia. There is a lot going on in the story, but all in a way that is told with charm, exuberant and offbeat wit, enchanting imagination and nail-biting suspense. Loved the little details as well, such as the wand-shining house elfs, the bake-offs, the office-cleaning and the magically translucent umbrellas.

David Yates was more than ideal as director, having the firm ground from having directed the last four Harry Potter films. There are no complaints to be had visually and technically, and, other than the slow start, could find little to fault with the way the story was told. The characters are well drawn and their personalities well established, with the only real glaring exception being with Voight's character. Found myself really caring for the heroes and the creatures, and got a real sense of threat from the villains (excepting Grindelwald).

Acting was top notch, apart from Depp (and Voight doesn't really have much to work with to make any distinction), with Eddie Redmayne on superbly eccentric and endearingly quirky form. He is ideally matched by an affecting Alison Sudol, a charming Katherine Waterson and a highly amusing and amiable Dan Folger. On villain duty is Colin Farrell playing his dastardly role with smarmy relish and a chilling and heart-breakingly repressed Ezra Miller, though the latter is more ambiguous as a character whereas the former is full-on villainous. Samantha Morton also impresses.

On the whole, a magical introduction to the new era wizarding world, and mostly it is fantastic. 8/10 Bethany Cox