Cinema Lounge Reviews

The dangerous dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald plans to finally take control of the entire Wizarding World. Professor Albus Dumbledore is the only one who knows him best and so recruits a team of wizards and witches who are the world’s only hope of stopping Grindelwald and his growing army from destroying the world as they know it

On this third instalment of the Wizarding World spin-off series set in the same universe as the worldwide phenomenon Harry Potter, the Fantastic Beats saga heads back to its Wizarding World roots this time with new and returning characters setting up one of the most anticipated entries into the series. However, with The Secrets of Dumbledore that doesn’t seem to be the case this time. The fourth movie is now in jeopardy before it’s even begun as the film only managed to bring in $6 million making it the lowest ever recorded opening weekend box office for any Wizarding World film. However, despite its mixed reviews across the community, you can’t argue that it was great to head back into the one place we all love, the Wizarding World.

On a positive note, at least it was a huge improvement from The Crimes of Grindelwald which was heavily criticised for its confusing storyline and chaotic worldbuilding. However, that doesn’t mean it’s all well and good as I think the series is getting to that point now where it doesn’t look like they can do much more with it until they start dragging it out which I don’t think they should do. With that being said, the ending does suggest that there is a fourth film on the way for the Fantastic Beasts saga. But that may not happen now because of its poor box office.

If you still haven’t seen the previous instalments in the series then I do highly recommend watching them first so you have a brief understanding of what’s going on as The Secrets of Dumbledore does more or less pick up where the last film finished. That’s if you can wrap your head around them of course because even the previous Fantastic Beasts movies can have a confusing and complex plotline even for a Wizarding World film.

Something which I think you all should take onboard is that even though it’s a Wizarding World film and it’s classed as a family and children’s film, I wouldn’t say that it is suited more towards children this time as there is some scenes in the film which I don’t think younger audiences would appreciate and may get upset. For instance, (possible spoiler ahead) at one scene Grindelwald is seen killing a young animal in order to complete a spell in which he needs to take control over the entire Wizarding World. Although it doesn’t actually show you him killing the animal, young audiences may still get upset over what’s happening as it is still obvious on screen what’s going on.

All in all, I did really enjoy The Secrets of Dumbledore even if it did have a few negatives along the way. Honestly, you’ll forget about it’s flaws throughout as it’s just such an enjoyable watch in my opinion, which could mainly because I’m a huge Wizarding World fan so the nostalgia made it just that little more special. Speaking of which, if you’re a Harry Potter fan but haven’t really been interested in this spin-off series then I’m sure this one will be more to your liking with new and familiar faces retuning as well as locations which may have made one or two appearances in the Harry Potter series at some point. Additionally, if this was the final film then what a way to go out with the epic final battle between Dumbledore and Grindelwald battling it out once and for all which also reinforces my point of why any more films could be in danger of being dragged out too much.

Something which I haven’t touched on yet is how well Mads Mikkelsen portrayed his version of Grindelwald. I won’t get into why the actor was changed for the character (you all probably know why) but he played the dark wizard beautiful and was one of the ideal choices for the role. It’s hard to compare both Johnny Depp’s and Mads Mikkelsen versions of the character as both versions of the character suited the series perfectly and would be interesting to see what both characters would have looked like in each film.