Review of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) by Heidi D — 01 Dec 2018

In defense of the movie's dull arts, it has a number of high pointsï¿ 1/2"literally, points to enjoy stonedï¿ 1/2"with as many wonderfully imaginative visuals as there are confused plot lines.

Yet despite its briefcase full of bulls and bellows, its messenger bag menagerie, the film never delivers on its promise of fantastic beasts, too quickly getting lost among other, ostensibly more weighty threads.

Rather than a magical retelling of pandora's box, what we get is a set of social justice allegoriesï¿ 1/2"in line with the heart of the original series, though much more heavy handed and obvious hereï¿ 1/2"that only ever loosely cohere: Metaphors about racism and queerness, Hitlerism and Puritanism, spoon fed to the audience in such an obvious way that the movie ends up choking on them.

This focus on ethical hierarchies and acts of othering, no matter how in your face it isï¿ 1/2"and note: I think these are important things for art to critique!ï¿ 1/2"nonetheless is superficial, especially with an even more architectonic binary remaining unquestioned throughout: The beasts themselves, who are not only quickly cast aside for the more important "human" story, but whose crucial sacrifices are dismissed even as they are happening.

Woof, I say.