Fantastic Beasts is a Treat for Harry Potter Fans... #movie_review

Looking for a Fantastic fantasy movie, Fantastic Beasts is sure to hit all the right notes. I’m giving it an A-.
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It’s 1926, seventy years before Harry Potter and Newt Scamander (played by Eddie Redmayne) is visiting New York in order to help one of his beasts return to its home. Sadly things go awry and he is embroiled in a war between Magic’s and No-Maj’s. 

​Newt is a unique character who is more comfortable with the animals he protects than people. Unfortunately, his case which is filled with magical beasts opens and some of them escape. It’s up to him and his new friends, a No-Maj named Jacob and two magical sisters to recover all the beasts and defuse the escalating danger situation in New York.

​Fans of Harry Potter will LOVE this movie since it features some of the wonderful beasts and nods to the Harry Potter world. Applause filled the theater as the credits rolled. If you aren’t familiar with the series, you will enjoy the movie but not get all the extra hints within the storyline. Either way, the beasts steal the movie. I left wanting some of my very own!

​Sadly, I was able to figure out who the bad guy was early on, but there were still some big surprises. I jumped and squeezed my husband when I saw one of them. It had been kept very hush-hush! Keep your eyes peeled for hints at future stories. The cinematography leaves somethings to be desired as the wizards jump from place to place during a fight scene, it’s hard to keep up. Certainly, don’t blink or you will miss some of the action.

​As the first of six movies based on Newt and his beasts, this movie is sure to be referenced again and again. It will be interesting to see how they end up tying in more of Harry’s world.