‘Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore’ Review: Mads Mikkelsen Goes Dark, J.K. Rowling Goes Deep in Emotional Middle Chapter
variety.comPeter Debruge Chief Film CriticRemember way back in the year 2000, before even the first Harry Potter movie had been released?
Big as a cinderblock and nearly as heavy, the fourth novel in J.K. Rowling’s bestselling YA series inspired fans to line up at bookstores around the country days in advance.
At 734 pages, “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” was a monster — the biggest book many young fans had ever contemplated reading.
Getting through it took effort, albeit the kind that brought deep and immediate rewards to those bewitched by the parallel reality Rowling had invented, one where wizards existed alongside the rest of us unfortunate, non-magic folk.Well, here we are, three movies into Rowling’s convoluted big-screen prequel saga, and the series once again feels like work, only this time, the resulting pleasures will strike audiences quite differently, depending on your level of dedication to the franchise. “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” is rooted deep in the mythology of Rowling’s Wizarding World, seldom slowing down long enough to explain the magic spells or strategies used by its characters.
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