Zouwu, Nifflers, Wampus, Thunderbird.
Welcome to Newt Scamander’s thriving world of magical creatures as the sequel to Fantastic Beasts franchise, Crimes of Grindelwald scores at the theatres this week.
Several new characters are revealed as one foray into J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world aside Newt. The movie stirred quite a hype among the fans as this marked the entry of Albus Dumbledore. Plot-holes and revelations turning the tables, J.K. Rowling leaves the audience spellbound with her effective screenplay writing for Crimes of Grindelwald.
The movie begins with Grindelwald shown in MACUSA (Magical Congress of the United States of America) under top-level security measure, being taken to MOM (Ministry of Magic, England). However, with the clever use of Polyjuice potion, he escapes. The plot evolves as Newt appeals for his international travel right at the Ministry of Magic, England. As the movie progresses, one sees Newt choosing his side for the battle against Grindelwald. Jude Law is introduced as Dumbledore and he is everything we had in our minds about the younger version of Dumbledore. The same calm and collected, the aura of secrets, only with a confounding sense of fashion.
The only thing that comes to mind when Grindelwald is shown on screen is, ‘Step aside Voldemort, Grindelwald is here.’ Grindelwald is a seductive antagonist character nothing like Voldemort. He’s the calm before the storm that is clearly seen raging in his eyes. The revelations come off shocking as each character is revealed with dark secrets. Nagini being a maledictus, Dumbledore and Grindelwald’s blood pact and Aurelius Dumbledore.
The movie unleashes any sort of expectations the fans had and takes a completely different turn of events. Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Eddie Redmayne have done perfect justice to the legacy of characters. The climax is a cliffhanger and keeps all levels of curiosity high. The movie collected $253 million at the Worldwide Box Office on the first day. The director, David Yates who has directed the Harry Potter series (5-8) and Fantastic Beasts and Where to find them (the prequel to Crimes of Grindelwald) has maintained the same spark of magic alive in this one as well. The screenplay again comes from the author J.K. Rowling who has known the secrets for 20 years. Overall, the movie gives you several nail-biting moments.
Athira A
athira.nair187@gmail.com
