Thoughts on Crimes of Grindelwald

I watched the new Fantastic Beasts movie – The Crimes of Grindelwald on the day it was released, as you can expect from me. I then read the screenplay book the very next day. I did not get time to blog about it as I was traveling. Now that I am back, I have plenty of thoughts on the movie and the screenplay.

This post will contain SPOILERS so if you haven’t yet seen or read this part of Fantastic Beasts series, then skip this post.

Since you are reading this part, I am assuming that you have already seen the movie or don’t really care about getting spoiled. I was more excited for this part than I was for the previous installment since the trailer showed a young Dumbledore. It was amazing to see a young Dumbledore teaching Defence against the dark arts to school students. We also get a glimpse of young McGonagall in a scene. We also got to see Hogwarts in this part, which is what I missed the most in the previous movie.

But as many people pointed out, the timeline of events seems a bit off. Dumbledore should have been older in this movie or the movie should have been shot in a different time period, maybe in 1800s. I saw this post and still can’t wrap my head around this. 

Other than Dumbledore, I was most excited to see Johnny Depp as Grindelwald. Johnny Depp is one of my most favorite actors. I am not sure I care about the controversy surrounding him. He is good looking and can act well which is what I care about. Like many people said, Grindelwald is not like Voldemort at all. He is not power hungry but instead wants to make the world a better place for wizards. He is manipulative, persuasive and smart unlike Voldemort who controlled people by inciting fear. I love how he escapes from his prison intelligently in the very beginning of the movie. I think I like Grindelwald more. He is evil but not really.

Nagini’s appearance was surprising. Why is Nagini with Credence? This part was all about Credence trying to figure out who he really was and trying to find his parents. The question that comes to my mind is that why exactly is Nagini close to Credence. Is Credence somehow related to Voldemort? Is that why Nagini ends up with Voldemort later on? We also learn that Nagini is a maledictus. It makes sense that she is a human as Voldemort would not put a part of his soul in some random snake. He would prefer an intelligent creature as companion and not just an animal.

We also get a glimpse of French ministry of magic in this part, just like we got American ministry of magic in the last part. I like how they are showing us magical communities around the world through these movies.

Who exactly is Leta Lestrange? Is she related to Bellatrix Lestrange and her family? Ever since I heard the Lestrange surname in the previous part, I have been interested in her. In this movie, they show that she was evil when she was young. Is the Lestrange family full of such evil people? But they just ended her character in this movie, so now I am even more curious.

I liked all the other characters including Newt Scamander, who is great. We get to see one more character from Harry Potter in this movie – Nicholas Flamel. We also catch a glimpse of Philosopher’s stone at his place. I love seeing characters from HP movies in these prequel movies.

I had few more questions like why did Dumbledore send Newt to New York in the first part? Even Newt knows that it was not just for the Thunder Bird. He knew about the obscurial and wanted help in catching it. He also wants Newt to protect Credence. How did Dumbledore know about the Obscurial? Who does he think Credence is? He pretends as if he has no idea who Credence is when he talks to Newt. But he must have a fair idea who Credence is. If not, he would not send Newt to NY.

Is Credence related to Salazar Slytherin? Is this why Grindelwald wanted to take him in? Does Grindelwald think that Credence is more powerful than Dumbledore and will be able to defeat his enemy? Was Grindelwald lying when he said Credence is a Dumbledore?

Why did Grindelwald want Irma dead? Did she know something about Credence’s origin that he did not want Credence to know? Or was it just to make Credence angry? He also moved the box about Lestrange family from Ministry of magic to Lestrange tomb so that Credence can get access to it easily. It was interesting to learn that Lestrange family was a french pure blood line. I think he wanted Credence to become desperate. Grindelwald wanted to recruit him by promising him to reveal his past, which he does at the end of the movie.

We know Dumbledore’s past and about his sister who died. Is Credence related to his sister? There are lot of speculations going around that he is Dumbledore’s nephew. I cannot believe that Credence is Dumbledore’s brother. Grindelwald does not say specifically about his relationship to Dumbledores. He just reveals his real name at the end of the movie. We have to wait for the next movie to learn who Credence really is.

Who does the predictions of Tycho Dodonus refer to? I don’t think it was talking about Lestrange family. The daughter most likely seems to be Ariana Dumbledore and which son was banished and why? Is it referring to Ariana’s son? The one seeking revenge with Albus Dumbledore is Credence. Who was Credence’s aunt who was carrying him on the ship to America? She drowned in the sea. Is it Dumbledore’s sister? Was she running away from her family?

I love seeing all the new beasts in these movies. This time we got to see a chinese creature.

So many unanswered questions that only JKR can answer. I am desperately waiting for the next movie now. I give this movie and book 5/5 stars. How can I give anything less to something so closely connected to the wizarding world that I grew up on?

Did you watch the movie or read the book? What did you feel? Let me know in comments.