By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)
* Spoiler Alert
A tiny bit of that familiar Harry Potter magic is all that’s needed to spin Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them into its own yarn. While most of the music is original, the signature tune from the Potter films reminds viewers about where this new series fits in a greater whole. The movie has all the intrigue from, say The Untouchables (1987), but when that familiar formula from the books J.K. Rowling wrote about the titular character, the young man in this new film has hints of Nicholas Rowe (ala Young Sherlock Holmes) feeling lost, embroiled to his own world, until reality hits him hard.
The wizarding world J.K. Rowling invented is expanded upon. With this new film, the very precocious Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) is getting the spotlight even though a bigger issue (which will span several movies) is afoot elsewhere. He arrives in America by boat (through New York) and meets Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler), Porpentina “Tina” Goldstein (Katherine Waterston) and her sister Queenie (Alison Sudol). An accidental switch of suitcases belonging to the two men opens up a Pandora’s Box of problems.
Continue reading “Fantastic Beasts is Fun, and The Pandora’s Box is Something to Worry About”
By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)