The early reviews of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore have been revealed by the critics, with some calling the Harry Potter spinoff series ‘good-natured entertainment’. While many have lauded the latest instalment for having an edge over its predecessor, there are claims that it ‘lacks much of the magic’ that ignited people’s interest in the wizarding world.
Rotten Tomatoes has given a 60% ‘fresh’ score to the film, giving it a much-desirable edge over the second one having a 36% score. In its review, the site mentioned that the film “avoids some of the pitfalls that plagued its predecessor, but lacks much of the magic that drew audiences into the wizarding world many movies ago.”
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore first reviews
The film received a three-star rating by The Guardian‘s Peter Bradshaw, who noted that there’s ‘still something weightless and formless’ about the film’s narrative. On the other hand, The Mirror’s Andy Lea, in his review, mentioned, “Thankfully, while still nowhere near as enchanting as a trip to Hogwarts, the third Fantastic Beasts film brings some movie magic back to Rowling’s Wizarding World.'” Andy also mentioned how Mads Mikkelsen ‘delivers a less showy and more creepy’ portrayal of Grindewald.
The Evening Standard‘s Charlotte O’Sullivan awarded the film four stars, hailing JK Rowling’s ‘risky but rousing experiment’. “Secrets of Dumbledore shows an impressive willingness to mess with the HP formula (and formulas in general). It’s a work in progress and within a whisker of being fantastic,” she wrote.
Deadline‘s Stephanie Bunbury also spoke about quite a few plots of the film ‘hanging loose’ and ‘making no sense’. “There was an entire chase sequence where I had no idea who was doing the chasing”, Bunbury added.
More about Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore
Directed by David Yates, the film stars Jude Law, Eddie Redmayne, Alison Sudol, Dan Fogler, Callum Turner, Jessica Williams and others. The film is set to come out in India on April 8, 2022, while it will hit US theatres on April 15.