Fantastic Beasts – The Secrets of Dumbledore | A darker sequel ★★★½

Third installment of the Fantastic Beasts series, Dumbledore’s secrets is the most successful of the lot, despite a somewhat… disappointing ending. Any fan of the Harry Potter franchise should, however, find his account.

Marissa Groguhe
The Press

This new ante-episode of the Harry Potter saga takes place in the 1930s, where airs of populism and the war to come hover. As the fierce Gellert Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen) rallies more and more supporters, Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) entrusts Norbert Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) and his cronies with the mission of stopping his dangerous rise. Always punctuated with humor, this third opus of the saga – signed like the two previous ones David Yates (who also directed the last four Harry Potter films) also comes to plunge this series spin off in a universe a little darker than the previous ones.

The franchise takes a very political turn, as the new Supreme, ruler of the Wizarding world, must be elected. One senses in the exploited codes clear referents to totalitarianism, populism and identitarianism (which, in the wizarding world, translates into a hatred of Muggles, ie people without magical powers).

New accomplices join Norbert’s gang, including his own brother Thésée (Callum Turner) and the American witch Eulalie Hicks (Jessica Williams), two important and relevant presences in this cast.

More from Dumbledore

We’re not quite sure what “Dumbledore’s Secrets” meant. For if the illustrious and mysterious magician, so well interpreted by the fantastic Jude Law, occasionally manages to slip into the course of the plot, there is very little question of secrets. We actually only counted one, which ultimately doesn’t have much impact on the main plot.

Note that one of the most persistent rumors about him is confirmed in the very first minutes of the film. Mentioned then several times, his sexual orientation (or rather his love for Gellert Grindelwald) helps to explain some of his decisions taken in the past and his subsequent actions.

Because Dumbledore’s name appears in the title, we would have liked to see this young version of the future director of Hogwarts on screen more often, at the time when he wore more than togas. He still has the role that we know him to be, that of the wise man who intervenes at the opportune moments. The balance is maintained so that Norbert and his fantastic creatures do not take a back seat. Always so endearing and interpreted with accuracy by Eddie Redmayne, the main character skillfully carries the film on his shoulders.

Equally evil and complex, Gellert Grindelwald, played by Johnny Depp in the second film, is this time worn by Mads Mikkelsen. The trial of Depp for domestic violence will have forced this change which we finally find welcome. Mikkelsen did not suffer makeover (Johnny Depp had platinum blonde hair for the role, as the character was portrayed in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows), but his Grindelwald is more convincing, colder and unsympathetic, entangled in its megalomaniac and identity madness. More subtle in his interpretation, Mikkelsen sends shivers down the spine. We should also mention here the acting of Ezra Miller, in the role of Creedance Barebone, always so excellent to make us feel uncomfortable.

We are dealing here with a film which wants to please connoisseurs of the wizarding world and which offers many opportunities to smile thanks to judicious winks. It is always pleasant to see the places (Hogwarts!), the objects and the characters that we know appear on occasion in this chronicle of the past. Even the soundtrack skilfully tickles our nostalgia and plunges us back into this magical world, just by the sound of a few famous chords.

The conclusion of the feature film is the weakest point of this film, which is far from perfect, but quite pleasant. This end lacks bite and it is hard to believe. Yes, it’s about wizards and wands, but it’s ultimately the lack of credibility (or lack of action) at the end of the Dumbledore’s Secrets which throws us off.

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