*In “Fantastic Beasts: The Curse of Grindelwald“, there are a lot of problems, which can best be summed up by the film’s treatment of Zoe Kravitz, who portrays Leta Lestrange.
As Lestrange, Kravitz portrays an emotionally damaged and confused young woman who still exerts some control over the film’s protagonist, Newt Scamander – played by Eddie Redmayne – who was once in love with her, and possibly still is. After she once risked the life of a fellow Hogwart’s student, Newt wound up taking the blame, protecting her but resulting in him being ostracized from some British wizarding society. She is descended from a historically wealthy, pureblood family infamous for embracing the Dark Arts. She is engaged to Theseus Scamander, Newt’s brother, and is now working at the British Ministry of Magic, as the assistant to Torquil Travers, the Head of Magical Law Enforcement.
Does all of that sound interesting? It’s really not.
Yes, the shame of “Grindelwald” is they take Kravitz – whose pictorial in the current “Hot Issue” of “Rolling Stone” is so smoldering it’s a miracle all the copies of the magazine don’t spontaneously combust – and make her bland, cold and almost forgettable.
The waste of Kravitz’s talents could potentially be chalked up to tokenism – a mulligan on having no major characters in the “Harry Potter” books be black – if not for the fact that every other member of this fine cast suffers the same fate.
#FantasticBeasts is “a darker, bolder film.” Get tickets now: https://t.co/JDjIHC6MsJ pic.twitter.com/dzSRVR6HYl
— Fantastic Beasts (@FantasticBeasts) November 20, 2018
Yes, with Rowling as sole screenwriter, a cast that should be an embarrassment of riches – Redmayne, Kravitz, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Jude Law and Johnny Depp to name a few – become an embarrassment instead, a colossal convoluted mess – and a bore.
There is really no need to expand too much more on the story details here, as they are almost all as ponderous as Leta Lestrange’s plot threads – which in a seasoned screenwriter’s hands, may have sizzled instead of putting people in a stupor.
Part of the problem is that instead of writing more novels, in which Rowling could have really explored these characters in depth and then boiled them down to their essence in films – as she did with her “Potter” books, which translated the most popular books of the last century in an entertaining, coherent way – Rowling instead chose to write a screenplay as she would a novel.
Given her massive, worldwide success, who dared say no?
Here’s hoping she learns from her shortcomings and the already dwindling enthusiasm for what she has imagined as a 5-film series after only 2 films – and allows a seasoned screenwriter to work with her.
As it stands, the only thing that makes “Grindelwald” worth seeing is Johnny Depp’s portrayal as the titular villain. But instead of a satisfying showdown with Dumbledore (Law), we get a rousing..setup for the next few films, which may not happen, at this rate.
This is also the flaw in the major “surprise” of the film, which, until its revelation, allowed the preceding 2 hours to be a confusing muddle.
Instead of focusing on a great film in and of itself, Rowling treats “Grindelwald” as simply 2 hours of setup for a few minutes of payoff in a 10-hour movie.
It is a decision that has turned many fans off – if it did not make them drowsy.
If Rowling has not damaged her brand beyond repair, here’s hoping she allows a writing partner to help her script a “Fantastic Beasts” film – and all 3 planned films – worthy of her extremely talented cast and her impressive imagination.
Grade: C
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