does the same for Paris - French
actors are largely absent and
composer James Newton How-
ard fails to incorporate a Gal-
lic element into his score in the
manner in which he previously
captured the rhythm of New
York’s Jazz Age.
There are so many revelations
about how characters are re-
lated to one another here that it
can feel like you’re watching a
two hour supercut of six seasons
of Dynasty, and only the most
committed of Potterphiles will
be impacted by such reveals.
As with the first movie, the cli-
max descends into the usual CG
mess of blue flames and heroes
screaming “Noooooo” as some-
thing bad happens to someone
we stopped caring about an
hour ago. Even the beasts aren’t
so fantastic here, and the ge-
neric digital creatures on display
forced me to wonder what Jim
Henson might have done with
this concept back in the day. Two
movies in and Rowling’s new se-
ries has already lost its magic. w
Fantastic Beasts:
The Crimes of Grindelwald
2 stars out of 5
Directed by: David Yates
Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law,
Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler,
Johnny Depp, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller,
Zoë Kravitz, Carmen Ejogo
NJ STAGE - ISSUE 53
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