Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore Review Round-Up: What Did the Critics Think?

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore has seen its first batch of critic reviews get posted online – so what are critics saying about the film? After surveying the first round of reviews it seems critics continue to have overall mixed feelings about the Harry Potter prequel series. That said, Secrets of Dumbledore is also generally noted to be an improvement over the previous film, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, which was met with tepid reaction from viewers in 2018. 

Read below for insight into what critics thought of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. 

Course-Correction For The Wizarding World

ComicBook.com critic Patrick Cavanaugh says that The Secrets of Dumbledore is the course-correction the franchise needed after the missteps of The Crimes of Grindelwald: 

Being the halfway point of the planned five-film series, the fate of the series surely isn’t riding on the success of this film, as the Wizarding World has enough of a following to guarantee the completion of this prequel narrative, but Secrets of Dumbledore could surely kill any interest among audiences if it’s as disappointing as its predecessor. Luckily, this film manages to course-correct the narrative enough to evoke excitement in the characters and what the future might hold for them, even if it’s still a far cry from the success of the proper Harry Potter series, as it invests more into its characters than its predictable premise.

READ FULL REVIEW HERE. 

Good For Potter Heads

Variety thinks that while casual viewers may not “get it” Potter-Heads will love the deep mythology and prequel connections of Secrets of Dumbledore:

 “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. That’ll no doubt vex casual viewers, keeping them at wand’s length from the interpersonal relationships that make this grand fight for the planet worth watching. But devotees will likely adore the various revelations in store, including a deeper commitment to the tragic love story between beloved Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) and the wizard determined to settle a score with Muggle-kind.

Going In Circles To Nowhere

In Polgyon’s view, Secrets of Dumbledore tries to right the ship, but still hasn’t quite found the right direction to go in: 

But so long as cash is green and galleons are gold, the series shall lurch onward. The third installment continues to expand the wizarding world’s geography and history, getting hopelessly lost along the way. The Fantastic Beasts spinoffs began as wonderstruck adventures acquainting mild-mannered naturalist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) with a menagerie of CGI critters. He’s now been remanded to the margins of his own franchise (and its poster). His presence has been reduced to a handful of whimsical interludes that feel severely out of place in what’s otherwise a morose political thriller. An evident attempt to right the ship has turned into a calamitous case of mission drift, as a property with no identity travels in nonsensical circles, looking for a sustainable new direction.

Buyer’s Remorse

IGN sees a clear attempt to change the storytelling lane of this franchise into a more direct Harry Potter prequel – instead of the story of how Newt Scamander’s famous guide book came to be: 

Warner Bros. appears to have buyer’s remorse when it comes to this series. The posters all minimize the “Fantastic Beasts” part of the title (in favor of the “Secrets of Dumbledore” subtitle), but since it continues to be a linear franchise, it doesn’t have the luxury of giving its main characters the boot. 

Enough Prequel Intrigue

For The Guardian, the new Harry Potter franchise elements that are wedged into Secrets of Dumbledore are Intriguing enough to work a few magic tricks: 

The Secrets of Dumbledore is another very amiable and lovely-looking fantasy adventure with some great production design and visual effects, especially in the New York scenes. But it’s not about “secrets” as much as new IP-franchise narrative components shuffled into the ongoing content and shuffled out again. Yet there is certainly something intriguing about the questions arising from the saga’s approach to the existing Potter timeline.

Too Many Real Distractions

THR argues that a combination of real-world concerns, and concerning behavior by real people involved with this franchise have all but killed the magic of the Wizarding World:

If Secrets of Dumbledore has a reason for existing, it’s perhaps as evidence of coping with disenchantment. It’s difficult to remain enamored by the Wizarding World when its production is mired in controversy and its creator frequently espouses dangerously myopic views. This inevitably influences perceptions of the work, revealing, at least to this critic, just how obsessed these films are with binaries — good and evil, poor and rich, love and hate, light and dark. But life, like storytelling, is far more complicated, and that’s a lesson the franchise would be wise to embrace.

Spark Is (Re-)Lit

Empire comes to the conclusion that Secrets of Dumbledore does manage to rekindle the spark of the Harry Potter franchise – if just barely: 

Tellingly, the year preceding The Secrets Of Dumbledore has involved a concerted effort, via anniversaries and reunion specials, to recapture the magic — a tacit acknowledgement of how much of it has been lost in recent years. So comes the multi-million-dollar question: can The Secrets Of Dumbledore possibly hope to reconjure some of it?

The answer, just about, is a yes — if not a resounding one.