With Gellert Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen) on a rise of power that may result in his leadership over the wizarding world and starting a war with non-magical “muggles,” Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law), a strong force of righteousness finds himself in an impossible situation.  Former lovers, they sealed an unbreakable vow between each other making it so neither can turn against the other.  Unwilling to stand by and let Grindelwald start his war, Albus enlists the help of Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) in an elaborate plan to unseat Grindelwald before he can inflict even more damage onto the world. 

The third installment of the troubled Wizarding World franchise, a spinoff of Warner Brothers’ Harry Potter films, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore serves as the intended middle-point of a five-film arc, though may end up being the finale.  In addition to extensive casting problems as well as source author JK Rowling going public with anti-trans rhetoric, the films have found dwindling success since premiering in 2016 with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, five years after the final film from the novels: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011).  Never the less, David Yates returns to the wizarding world to direct his seventh film in the saga and Steve Kloves pens his ninth Potter-based script. 

Tonally, like the Potter arc, these films have gotten darker as the progressed, but unlike the novels, Fantastic Beasts seems to be having a rougher time at finding the balance between magical adventure and its darker, more adult themes.  What results is a mishmash that will leave fans on both sides the aisle displeased and wanting more.  For those who enjoy Newt searching after magical creatures, they may find that those fantastic elements have continued to take a back seat as the overall story progressed, but on the other hand those with little patience for the whimsical antics will not enjoy being detoured from the main plot in an effort to drive up toy sales.  This surely stems from a lack of planning at the start – a similar phenomenon experienced recently in a galaxy far, far away with the Star Wars sequel trilogy – because by hitching their wagon to Newt, the creative team is locked in to including him in a larger narrative of which his character does not seem to fit.  The disconnect is further magnified by Redmayne’s shy and bumbling portrayal of the bookish magizoologist.  Physically, he shrinks from the frame as he mutters and whispers his lines, careful to keep his gaze as far removed from the lens as possible. He makes Newt not just an unlikely hero in this greater arc, but rather someone wholly out of place in these stories of which he is forced to be the center of by nature of the title. 

The script seems to know that Newt is a fish out of water in these later installments, or at the very least do not make an effort to include him in a more realized role, as Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler), a muggle baker from New York City, has also been in all three Beasts films and is not only a scene stealer, but a vital part of the plot.  Fogler excels in the role of comic sidekick, and because of his romantic involvement with Queenie (Alison Sudol), who has sided with Grindelwald, he has a fully realized through line and a reason to be involved even though he possesses no magic ability. Newt is not without his own romantic follies, however it appears scheduling issues had greatly reduced Katherine Waterston‘s role of Tine in this film and Victoria Yeates’ Bunty also finds herself largely removed from the plot as well safe for a few key moments as she is off on her own secret mission which the script seldom decided to check back in on her.  

The use of magic in this film is, surprisingly, restrained.  When it is utilized, visually, it is often shown with a glistening sheen.  Mostly, however, the film relies on magical items instead of wand-cast spells which retain the appearance of colored lighting as they were in the Potter films.  The most exciting uses of magic in this film comes when it helps to manipulate the environment.  There is a scene at a prestigious state dinner that erupts into eventual chaos and, with their cover blown as the heroes flee the scene, they are forced into using their abilities to defend themselves and create and exit path.  Later, right before the finale, the team finds themselves working their way through a city marketplace, and again, because of the non-reliance on magic – though the scene is not devoid of its tricks at certain points – it is reminiscent of the spy thrillers of old and, consequently, result in some of the most engaging scenes. 

By using magic so sparingly, Secrets of Dumbledore can focus on being a true political thriller.  For audiences on both sides of the pond, it can feel rather pertinent between the impacts of Brexit on Great Britain and cries of election fraud from conspiracists on the far right of the American political system.  The film does not go too deeply into the weeds on the politics of this world, only enough to show that Grindelwald, with aspirations of enacting a genocide, has a strong, vocal, following and has no qualms about cheating and bending election rules to secure his place of power. It is very much a simple tale of good versus evil.  Where the film stumbles, again, comes in its titling.  Secrets of Dumbledore implies that the script would be dredging up the torrid past between the two ex-lovers, but other than a few passing references that are easily cut out to preserve the Chinese Box Office, the script is quite slim when it comes to big character reveals.  The few scenes shared by Mikkelsen and Law show great chemistry between the two and it is unfortunate that there is not a deeper examination of this dynamic. 

The argument can still be made that Secrets of Dumbledore is the strongest of the Beasts films so far, and while it is not an exceptionally high bar to reach, it is the closest film to feel like it was working towards something within its own narrative.  There is finally an actual story here and not just buildup to the next film.  That being said, outsiders to the universe – as with any late canon entry into a franchise – may find it hard to connect to these characters, but it is not so esoteric to alienate the casual fans among the audience.  It is quite refreshing to see a prequel series not so beholden to its Ur text that it spends its time plotting Easter eggs instead of actual story.  In that sense, the entirety of the Fantastic Beasts saga can be categorized as a successful branching out of the wizarding world, beyond the walls of Hogwarts, it is just a shame that Rowling remains our tour guide and that the lightning bolt which adorned Daniel Radcliff’s forehead across Harry’s eight films is reluctant to strike twice.