Back To Hogwarts Featurette
J.K. Rowling and the cast of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald reminisce over their favorite Hogwarts memories....
Director: | |
Writers: | |
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Released: | Friday, November 16, 2018 |
Length: | 134 minutes |
Studio: | Warner Bros. |
Genre: | Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Action/Adventure |
Rating: | ![]() |
At the end of the first film, the powerful Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) was captured by MACUSA (Magical Congress of the United States of America), with the help of Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne). But, making good on his threat, Grindelwald escaped custody and has set about gathering followers, most unsuspecting of his true agenda: to raise pure-blood wizards up to rule over all non-magical beings.
In an effort to thwart Grindelwald’s plans, Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) enlists his former student Newt Scamander, who agrees to help, unaware of the dangers that lie ahead. Lines are drawn as love and loyalty are tested, even among the truest friends and family, in an increasingly divided wizarding world.
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In this film, we become reacquainted with Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne; The Theory of Everything), British wizard and "magizoologist", a person who studies magical creatures. Scamander has been forced to adhere to a travel ban after not going to work for the Ministry of magic but soon finds himself en route to Paris after separate visits from Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law; The Talented Mr. Ripley) and from Queenie (Alison Sudol; Between Us) and Jacob (Dan Fogler; Fanboy). He is trying to find Tina (Katherine Waterson; Alien: Covenant) who is searching for someone herself - Credence (Ezra Miller; Justice League). Unfortunately for everyone involved, Grindelwald (Johnny Depp; Pirates of the Caribbean Series) is also looking for Credence. He believes Credence can help in his takeover of the world from "no-mages".
The cast of this film is excellent, with reprisals from Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterson, Alison Sudol, and Dan Fogler. Jude Law is surprisingly wonderful as Dumbledore, and Ezra Miller manages to give a somewhat likable performance given his type of character. Johnny Depp is, once again, a pleasure to see on screen, always playing such varied roles. Together, this cast really meshes well together and bring you right into the film with them.
The Extended view mode had a great feature that I have never seen before, which is to let you know when the scenes being shown were not in the theatrical release. However, they did not let the viewer know when they stopped so it was a good try, but hopefully, the studio will improve on this in the future.
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.40:1 Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald looks pretty much perfect in its 2160p resolution. The picture is sharp and clear. The dark color palette that is used throughout the movie makes it a bit difficult to tell the details in normal 1080p Blu-ray. However, in 4K in HDR every subtle little change of color shines through. It is almost a new film. The Dolby Atmos mix perfectly compliments the video and fully immerses you in the sounds of old Europe and the magical world.
The special features (which are included on the Blu-ray) are as follows:
While the reception to Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald was not as large as the first film, I personally enjoyed it more than the first. While not as much action, it was nice to see old familiar characters and families from the Potter films. In addition, you see that not everywhere is just either good or evil. Most are a grey area. If you are a Potter fan or Fantastic Beasts fan, this film is a no brainer to see. If you are just starting to get involved in the wonderful "Potterverse" that J.K. Rowling has created then this series is not a bad place to start (at least it will then be in order)
Grade: A+
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