Fantastic Beasts lulls you in with the Harry Potter music motif and a few nods to existing lore, and then pretty much goes its own way. It is handsomely mounted, with a lot of very good special effects work, some spirited set pieces and an ambitious finale. Considering the number of disparate narrative threads in play, Rowling does more or less manage to pull them together (and spring a couple of surprises), but as this also serves as an origin story, many characters are somewhat underdeveloped but have potential for the other episodes to follow. Redmayne makes for an oddly insipid hero, but Colin Farrell is on-form, Ezra Miller gives another strong performance and Dan Fogler gives a great comedic turn. As a series opener, this is a good, enjoyable movie that may lack a little in character and emotion, but the money is all there up on the screen.
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