Why does Fantastic Beasts need five films? This was my first thought when the the length of the franchise was announced. Having now seen the first sequel, The Crimes of Grindlewald, I’m still left wondering the same thing.

The Crimes of Grindlewald bobs and weaves through new and existing Wizarding World mythology as the plot seeks to identify the heritage of Credence, who was a character of interest in the first installment. The problem is instead of elaborating on the immense and fascinating world, The Crimes of Grindlewald muddles it.

There’s glaring Harry Potter contradictions. There’s multiple extensive family trees to be spelled out. There’s characters behaving out of character. And ultimately, except for a last minute bombshell, there’s little reason to care that The Crimes of Grindlewald ever became movie.

Sure, there’s plenty of action and glorious visual effects to feast your eyes upon. And until something meaningful happens in this Wizarding World, this stopgap of a movie might satisfy the most devout Harry Potter demands. But herding fans to the cinema for a film more appropriately titled Fantastic Beasts: Much Ado About Nothing is a greater crime than anything Rowling’s character Grindlewald ever perpetrates.

Acting and Casting - 1 | Visual Effects and Editing - 2 | Story and Message - 0 | Entertainment Value - 1 | Music Score and Soundtrack - 1 | Reviewer's Preference - 0 | What does this mean?