Crab rave carried the movie

Seemed way too convoluted for what it was. If it wasn't for the beautiful visual effects this would have been a complete waste of 2 hours.

Honestly this is about as good as it could get, given the current situation this franchise finds itself in. It’s less messy than the last one and they smartly sidelined/ditched some of the more boring characters (like, where’s Nagini?), and in some ways it works in its favour. For example, I always found Tina a pretty annoying character and she’s barely in this one, while the new addition played by Jessica Williams is actually quite fun. The first 30 minutes are nothing but exposition dumps recapping the previous films. It’s inelegant and shows a lack of faith in the audience, but it’s also a necessary evil given what a mess _Crimes of Grindelwald_ was. The story is fine, it’s still a little incoherent (the beasts and Grindelwald/Dumbledore stuff doesn’t really gel together), and you can tell it’s written by a novelist, but it’s also more fun and imaginative than some of the previous installments, as well as most franchise films in general. Some of the character arcs are once again very confusing though. The acting is solid for the most part (Dan Fogler steals the movie again, Ezra Miller sucks again) and the new additions are all good, if not great. I always liked the directing in these movies, and while the cinematography is still good, this one in particular has a lot of that fake Hollywood sheen that’s part of the reason why the majority of blockbusters suck now. So, not awful, but it’s also far from memorable or something I’d recommend. Watch it on streaming, they’re more than likely going to cancel this franchise anyway. 4.5/10

Well, it looks fantastic. Stage design, FX and costumes are top notch. It's also better than movie 2. But it's one hour too long. The story isn't good: it's basically an action movie most of the time. I liked the magical creatures and how Newt studies them and how much he cares for them. Redmayne delivers a solid performance. Unfortunately, despite the trilogy's name, the beasts are rarely seen though. I still don't think it's a good idea to mix the "Newt with beasts" story with the story on Grindelwald. That's like mixing a David Attenborough documentary with *Die Hard*. The movie feels strangely detached from the first two movies. Frankly, I don't always understand why everyone is doing what they are doing. Still don't understand the significance of Queenie and her motivation for side-switching. I really liked Queenie and Jacob in the first movie and Queenie was fun but I lost all interest in her persona by now. And where's *Tina*? Was she cut out off this movie for production reasons? Why is she suddenly not important anymore? Perhaps I have forgotten the content of the first two movies (it has been some time) but wasn't Credence supposed to be some sort of WMD? In this movie, he's barely mentioned and comes across pretty weak. What's the point of telling his story then anyway?

The magic is there, but only literally. The weird ass title is off putting enough and the plot is a snoozefest for the most part. There are a few saving graces though: Jude Law nails it as Dumbledore and so does Mads Mikkelsen as Grindlewalt. I believed this movie would be the one that saves this franchise after the botch job that was the second one. Unfortunately, things aren't looking very good.