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A mildly entertaining film that returns to wizarding world and sees the “Fantastic Beasts” characters trying to prevent all-out war between the wizards and the muggles…which is not as exciting as it sounds. The basic plot it fine, even though it somewhat retcons parts of the last movie, but it lacks focus and takes a lot of strange detours before it finally gets to the point. While the finale is a good concept, the execution is anticlimactic. Most of the characters from the previous films are back, but most of them still lack enough charisma to raise the quality of the film. The strongest of the bunch are Dumbledore and Grindelwald, thanks to solid performances by Jude Law and Mads Mikkelsen. (Mikkelsen replaces Johnny Depp, creating a version with less flamboyance and a more grounded menace.) The effects are fine, but you almost always notice that you’re looking at CG. That’s expected when looking at fictional magic creatures, but it stands out more on some of the other magical items.
** out of *****