Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore: Movie Review

Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law, Mads Mikkelsen, Dan Fogler, Jessica Williams
Director: David Yates

Less concerned now with Fantastic Beasts, and more concerned with political shenanigans and never-ending personal battles, the latest Wizarding World movie arrives after years of tumult outside its Hogwarts-styled walls.

With Johnny Depp removed from the role of Grindelwald, and Beasts author JK Rowling mired in ongoing rows over trans comments, the latest film has been released with little fanfare than any others in the series, and with more of an emphasis on fan favourite Dumbledore than the franchise's seeming hero, Eddie Redmayne's Newt Scamander and his menagerie of creatures.

In this latest, Albus Dumbledore (a mournful, thoughtful Jude Law) has assembled a team of wizards and one Muggle to try and stop the rise of Grindelwald (a malevolent Mads Mikkelsen, whose serpentine presence makes all the difference) who's set on pursuing his goal of war with the Muggles.

But with Grindelwald manipulating prophecies and people behind the scenes, Newt Scamander and his assembled avengers team face a high stakes challenge - fail, and two worlds will fall.

Bathed in a 1930s fascism-rising aesthetic, Secrets of Dumbledore is less quasi-Potter, more Stasi-Potter, with its Man in the High Castle style costuming, washed out palette and dark trenchcoats and hats giving way to many parallels with the rise of Trumpian narratives and darker edges of regimes.

As a result, Secrets of Dumbledore is a more dour affair, which pushes the lighter touches of the at-times seemingly autistic Scamander and his beasts disappointingly to one side, in favour of an endurance-testing convoluted tale of confusion and of souls wounded from the consequences of previous clashes. 

But it's not without some joys.

The execution of some of the wizarding conflicts are thrilling to behold - flashes of magic appear from both the wands of the protagonists and from those behind the camera as the fights unfurl. 

The tension between Dumbledore and Grindelwald feels more nuanced this time, and the outright admission of their romance adds a frisson of danger to proceedings. Law is dependably solid here, offering hints of ambiguity and maudlin touches in his reflections. However, Mikkelsen's restrained menace adds much to their relationship, and, in truth, it's hard to see how Johnny Depp could have mastered what was needed.

And Jessica Williams makes a brilliant presence as Professor Hicks, her Southern lilt lifting scenes and adding a vibrancy and diversity to the Wizarding World that's been lacking hitherto.

Secrets of Dumbledore still suffers from a nagging feeling of continuous set up, and no resolution - and the ongoing speaking in riddles and prophecies dialogue which is espoused left, right and centre is just mind-blowingly tedious and speaks to a script that doesn't seem willing to embrace newcomers.

But there are moments of levity in among the darkness, character nods which lighten proceedings and pierce the sullen nature of the quest. Yet, they are few and far in between, in a solid film that casts a muted and meandering spell rather than dealing a more lasting one.