Rowling throws her audience into the fray without developing personalities we grow to love. As a result, Fantastic Beasts feels underwhelming, if diverting for the duration.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Apr 9, 2022

Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them is an unexpected return to Rowlings wizarding world but with anything, the unexpected surprises are sometimes the best.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Feb 14, 2022

...a predominantly worthless endeavor that seems to serve no purpose other than to lay the groundwork for future installments.

| Original Score: 1.5/4 | Jan 18, 2022

So, in this horror show, otherwise called reality, what to do? Perhaps some escapism is not unwarranted.

| Nov 30, 2021

Fans of the Harry Potter books and films will enjoy the new offering from first-time screenwriter, J.K. Rowling...

| Aug 26, 2021

It's tempting to warily eye this film and see nothing more than a blatant cash-grab ... But it eventually hits its stride, and the end result proves to be a welcome addition to the fantasy field.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 18, 2021

With its message that magic is all around us if we know where to look, the movie is a handsome, entertaining and ultimately sequel worthy piece of work.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 3, 2021

There are a few interesting ideas at play, but they're typically neglected for some interruptive commotion.

| Original Score: 4/10 | Dec 4, 2020

Rowling knows how to play into the comedy and injects the film with a playful sense of humor...

| Nov 5, 2020

Delivers the kind of blockbuster fun and energy that was sorely lacking during the summer months this year.

| Original Score: B+ | Jul 2, 2020

The film may seem well known for the references in the Harry Potter saga, but the story's own identity tells us that we are in a renewed territory that, as we already anticipated, has bewitched us with an amazing spectacle. [Full review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 7/10 | Jun 27, 2020

I thought it was pretty boring.

| May 8, 2020

It was a horrible, awful misstep.

| May 8, 2020

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a genuinely interesting, sometimes thrilling new world that still feels vaguely familiar.

| Apr 28, 2020

If it is a fantasy story that includes historical elements but isn't strict about accuracy then there is no reason for the casting to not reflect the diversity of modern audiences...

| Mar 31, 2020

All of the action around Newt's missing beasts is enjoyable, and many of the creatures (more Nifflers, please) are irresistible.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Mar 27, 2020

While Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them isn't all the way a good movie, it has promise.

| Feb 13, 2020

Redmayne is a compelling central presence, and the story is head-and-shoulders above anything else in the blockbuster world this year. But... it suffers sorely from the missing chemistry at its core.

| Jan 15, 2020

The film is lush and Rowling-esque enough - with plenty of wonderfully animated fantastic beasties - to satisfy Potter fans.

| Jan 8, 2020

Is it a blatant cash grab from Warner Brothers or a creative return to an expansive world we all knew J.K. Rowling couldn't abandon entirely? Of course it's both.

| Dec 6, 2019