47
Metascore
49 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75The PlaylistDrew TaylorThe PlaylistDrew TaylorIt can be said, with some certainty, that ‘Fantastic Beasts’ has finally found its footing. This latest entry is the most fun and most buoyant in the relatively young series. And it’s enough to make you actually look forward to a subsequent installment (should there be one) instead of actively dreading it.
- This film has enough stunning special effects and adorable baby animals to keep you entertained for 2½ hours.
- 60The GuardianPeter BradshawThe GuardianPeter BradshawIt’s good-natured entertainment, though there is still something weightless and formless about the narrative.
- 50Slant MagazineDan RubinsSlant MagazineDan RubinsWith this film, nuance seems to have disapparated from the wizarding world altogether.
- 50IndieWireKate ErblandIndieWireKate ErblandThe series’ third outing, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, falls into precisely the same traps as its predecessor, offering up an unwieldy, mostly unsettling mash-up of adult themes and childish whimsy, made still more inscrutable by too many subplots, too many characters, and a tone that veers wildly off-course at every possible turn.
- 50Screen RantRachel LaBonteScreen RantRachel LaBonteThe Secrets of Dumbledore holds positives and negatives alike, and that makes for an entertaining, but slightly unsatisfying viewing experience. There is magic to be found, though, and perhaps that is all that matters.
- 45The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzIt is all extraordinarily interminable, even if Yates and company had the good sense to swap out Johnny Depp for Mikkelsen this time around.
- 40IGNSiddhant AdlakhaIGNSiddhant AdlakhaIt looks drab and feels like it was made by people who want to leave its magical premise behind, even though the series refuses to have anything resembling grown-up politics or perspectives.
- 40The Irish TimesDonald ClarkeThe Irish TimesDonald ClarkeThrough it all the technical work remains of the highest quality. It seems a shame that Stuart Craig and Neil Lamont’s lavish production design and Colleen Atwood’s gorgeous costumes – both leaning into unreal golden-era Hollywood – are wasted on such an emotionally unengaging slog.
- 20PolygonCharles BramescoPolygonCharles BramescoAn evident attempt to right the ship has turned into a calamitous case of mission drift, as a property with no identity travels in nonsensical circles, looking for a sustainable new direction.