REVIEW #168 The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022)

The Secrets of Dumbledore is the third instalment in the Fantastic Beasts franchise and is directed by David Yates. Dumbledore knows that Grindelwald is moving to take control of the wizarding world and entrusts the help of Newt Scamander to lead a team of wizards to fight Grindelwald and his legion of evil followers.

At its very core, The Secrets of Dumbledore is full of heart and charisma, creating a fun film for the family to enjoy. However despite it being enjoyable, is it a great film? I would have to say no, it’s very average and that’s coming from a big Wizarding World fan. This third instalment is heavy on the CGI and the final act set up in the Himalayan mountains made that CGI incredibly noticeable and distracted me from the finale. The plot itself was fine, in the Crimes of Grindelwald we found out that Credence was a Dumbledore and I liked how this film explored that further. One major character is missing from the entire film, with one brief cameo and that was just infuriating. Two films built around a certain romance for them to just be absent from the third? It’s a kick in the teeth for fans who were so invested in that character arc and a silly decision from the studio. The acting as a whole was pretty good, Mads Mikkelsen was great and although I don’t agree with the firing of Depp, he was the perfect replacement. I loved the moments inside Hogwarts and Hogsmead, the iconic Harry Potter melody playing over the shot of the castle gave me goosebumps! But unfortunately my Harry Potter bias isn’t enough to persuade me that this is a good film, a disappointing ending that actually hints that there could be another film and if there is, I hope it’s an improvement on this one.

Thanks for reading

Callan