Film Review – Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore

The “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” series was originally planned to be a five-film franchise, covering a grand story about an earlier age in the Wizarding World. “The Secrets of Dumbledore” is the third chapter in the saga, picking up where “The Crimes of Grindelwald” left off in 2018, with the second installment introducing an impenetrably grim tone and unnecessary ugliness to reach a more mature audience raised on everything “Harry Potter.” “The Secrets of Dumbledore” sustains the severity of J.K. Rowling’s vision (she co-scripts with Steve Kloves), but there’s a defined effort to brighten up the wizard war for the new endeavor, as director David Yates is tasked with balancing lightness and darkness to preserve brand name approachability. There’s noticeable springiness to parts of the movie, but still no firm dramatic reason to remain interested in the stale storytelling, which remains so painfully far from the heartfelt highs of “Harry Potter.” Read the rest at Blu-ray.com