The Crimes of Grindelwald is the second installment in the Fantastic Beasts prequel series. The film is directed by David Yates. He has directed Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and many other Harry Potter films. This movie stars Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Johnny Depp, Dan Fogler, and Allison Fogler. Most of the actors in the film are reprising the roles from the first film. There are some new additions the film series, including Jude Law as the young Professor Dumbledore and Claudia King as Nagini.

In this film, Newt and his friends are trying to find Credence Barebone. The main protagonist, Gellert Grindelwald, is trying to take over the wizarding and non-wizarding worlds. The opening credits presented is an action-packed scene that depicts the main character of that scene in a negative way. Most of the movie is told in chronological order, but there are very few flashback scenes. There are some aspects of the story left out or delayed. We do not know more than the main protagonist, Newt Scamander.

The characters dress appropriately to the late 1920s time period. The costumes fit well with the characters’ personalities. The characters are very realistic. The protagonists are extremely active and outgoing. The antagonists are immensely heinous and ominous. Newt’s actions in the film are done out of the good intentions of his heart, not for power or money. Some characters experience major transformations throughout the film.

The soundtrack in the movie makes the viewer more drawn into the story being told. The lighting in the film makes the movie appear more ominous. There are a lot of special effects used in the film. CGI was used to bring some wizarding world creatures to life. There are also some special effects used when the witches and wizards cast spells. There were no unusual camera angles or movements used.

The film’s overall message is to do actions out of the goodness of your heart and not for greed or power. The film helps the viewer realize the truth can not be hidden forever. The characters in the film are not important to the real world society. In the wizard and non-wizarding worlds, some witches and wizards see Grindelwald as a leader. They see him as a visionary and a revolutionary leader. Newt Scamander is seen as a fugitive by most of the wizarding world. All of the other protagonists are not very well known to the wizarding world. Credence struggles to find out who he and his family is. Queenie struggles with love and the rules of society. The opinions of the movie will be split. I enjoyed the movie overall, but the name of the film does not really fit with the story portrayed in the film. Grindelwald’s crimes are not discussed a lot and it is not the main plot of the story.