Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald Review

Is Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald worth watching?

Mostly for completists — 36% Celluloid Score. Gellert Grindelwald has escaped imprisonment and has begun gathering followers to his cause—elevating wizards above all non-magical beings. The only one capable of putting a stop to him is the wizard he once called his closest friend, Albus Dumbledore. However, Dumbledore will need to seek help from the wizard who had thwarted Grindelwald once before, his former student Newt Scamander, who agrees to help, unaware of the dangers that lie ahead. Lines are drawn as love and loyalty are tested, even among the truest friends and family, in an increasingly divided wizarding world.

Directed by David Yates, the film remains a cornerstone of the Harry Potter watch order on Celluloid, scored alongside the rest of the Wizarding World catalogue and the upcoming HBO series Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

Verdict

A denser, divisive Paris installment — lore expansions and Credence mysteries that split fans even as Johnny Depp’s Grindelwald loomed. Pair it with our full franchise watch order and where-to-watch notes on the movie page.