Outside of Star Wars and Indiana Jones, is there a more iconic and memorable Williams theme? I'd argue no. Perhaps most importantly, we wouldn't have had the sublime John Williams score. We wouldn't have the perfectly pitched Harry Potter aesthetic. We wouldn't have had the tremendous, perfect casting of Daniel Radcliffe, Emily Watson and Rupert Grint without this movie. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) Wherever the series goes next, you can find some fantastic stuff here.ĥ. Katherine Waterston and Ezra Miller provide intriguingly off-kilter support, and Colin Farrell is such a smolderingly seductive baddie it's a real shame Depp took over.

It's also really well-cast: Eddie Redmayne is great as Newt Scamander, a big screen hero whose character is defined by gentleness, curiosity and compassion instead of violence and aggression. It gives fans and casual viewers a chance to enjoy the fantasy without being stuck in twee boarding school world, and the expanded look at Rowling's wizarding world comes with delightfully colorful creatures and a dandy retro fantasy vibe. And thanks to off-screen controversy (Rowling's outspoken views on Twitter, Johnny Depp's marital difficulties) the Fantastic Beasts series has sputtered like a wonky wand.īut we will say this: the first film is decent. When Warner Bros decided to turn Rowling's slim pamphlet into a sprawling multi-movie franchise, it could be seen as a return to the magic or cynical moneymaking sorcery.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)

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