Fantastic Beasts Rapid Fire Review

     If you were to ask me what the story of Harry Potter is, I would have told you it was about a hairy man becoming a potter. I have never seen nor read anything in the Harry Potter franchise and have next to no knowledge of the characters or its stories, so this year is finally the time I dive into the Wizarding World and see what makes this franchise so beloved by many. Why not start off with what many consider the worst of the bunch as my first impression of this universe?  If some people can fall in love with Star Wars through watching the prequels first (Yes, those people exist.), then maybe I, too, can become a Harry Potter fan by watching the worst installments before the good stuff.

   Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them--Delightfully childish sometimes and dreadfully dark at others. It's a fine enough start to a trilogy, but aside from creatively striking creatures, dazzling magic spells, and the show stealing baker Jacob, there's not much that is fantastic.
     Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald--Daring to dive into darker themes, this second outing caught my attention from the get-go and didn't let go. Johnny Depp does a wonderful job at playing a compelling evildoer, but Jacob the baker is still the highlight of the movie. A lot of teases of deeper character developments arise, but the movie falls into the great sin of second parts of a trilogy--relying greatly upon the commitment of the viewer to see the next installment in order to get the payoffs. This movie should have sought out to be more of a standalone feature, because unfortunately…
     Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore--There's a moment in the movie where the characters regroup after completing their sidequests, and Dumbledore says, "The fact that things didn't go precisely the plan was precisely the plan." He then says that things are a lot worse now despite their efforts. I think that's a pretty good summation of this movie. It feels so random and lacks a clear direction, resulting in a worse experience overall.

     Now that this trilogy is out of the way, I won't feel disappointed with them after watching the proper Harry Potter saga. If anything, I'm more excited to continue this journey, knowing how beloved the next movies are by the fans. I'll rapidly review the first four movies once I watch them and also reveal what Hogwarts house I'm in.