From Page to Screen: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

I haven’t read the Fantastic Beasts book (neither the handbook version or the screenplay) so this will be a straight forward review, solely based on the film. Going into this movie I was very excited because it’s been a while since I’ve seen a Harry Potter movie in theaters and it was nice to get to do that again.

I saw Fantastic Beasts opening weekend when the film was of course sold out and everyone there were pretty hardcore Harry Potter fans. I’ve always loved going to see these kinds of movies on premiere weekends for this very reason. The atmosphere is just amazing and you don’t get that vibe if you see it in the afternoon on a random Tuesday.

So going into Fantastic Beasts I was very excited and the movie did not disappoint. The cast was absolutely phenomenal. Eddie Redmayne was the perfect Newt. He was cute and kind of awkward and just amazing. Dan Fogler, who played Jacob Kowalski, brought great comedy to the film. Ezra Miller as Credence was just creepy enough that I was weirded out but sympathetic enough that I was still on his side. Collin Farrell, however, made the perfect villain as Graves.

I absolutely loved Alison Sudol as Queenie. She was my favorite character hands down. Her sister, Tina (Katherine Waterston), however, was a bit annoying. I don’t blame Waterston for this though. I think Tina’s personality just irritated me and honestly I’m not exactly sure why. Towards the end she was okay though.

The plot itself was awesome and though I suspected that plot twist at the end I was still a little surprised by it. The action and magical scenes of the film were great as well. I was in awe of Newt’s suitcase and now want to live inside of it. I could’ve done without the bits of romance though. Queenie and Jacob were kind of cute but Newt and Tina’s little flirtation aired closer to the side of cringeworthy instead of awkwardly cute.

Overall though I really did like this movie and will probably end up buying the screenplay because honestly the cover just looks so incredibly gorgeous. Definitely go see the movie if you haven’t already. It’s totally worth at least one watch.

Did you see Fantastic Beasts? What did you think of it? Let me know in the comments below!