By Ethan Stinson

Challenged by the poor reception of its predecessor and the recasting of its primary antagonist, “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” had a lot to overcome if it wished to keep the moderately successful “Wizarding World” prequel series alive and relevant. After pandemic setbacks caused a nearly four-year gap between installments, even more pressure was placed on the film to lay solid groundwork for potential sequels.

Despite amiable performances from its cast and connections to past “Wizarding World” films, “The Secrets of Dumbledore’s” low-stakes narrative, loose connection to its predecessors and overall lack of fun bode rather poorly for the series’ future. 

Following the events of “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” “The Secrets of Dumbledore” follows Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne, “The Trial of the Chicago 7”) and company as they attempt to thwart dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald’s (Mads Mikkelsen, “Another Round”) campaign to become the Supreme Mugwump, the Wizarding World’s highest leader. Along the way, relevations are made regarding future Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbeldore’s (Jude Law, “Captain Marvel”) past relationship with Grindelwald, as well as disturbed wizard Credence Barebone’s (Ezra Miller, “Justice League”) mysterious connection to the Dumbledore family tree.

Compared to the films in the “Harry Potter” series, the “Fantastic Beasts” film lack a general sense of whimsy and heart, given the contrived nature of its stories and general lack of memorable characters, save for those borrowed from its sister series. “The Secrets of Dumbledore” is no different, bearing a mostly uneventful plot that serves no other purpose than to provide a set up for future films. While the antics of muggle sidekick Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler, “Kung Fu Panda”) and middling presence of magical creatures show that the film is not completely devoid of fun, it ultimately fails to capture the magic of the franchise Potterheads have come to know and love.

From the get-go, it appears as though the “Fantastic Beasts” series as a whole lacks a narrative roadmap to adhere by in future installments. While hints at sequels have been made in each film, it is made abundantly clear in each follow-up that these reveals were made without any clear idea of how they would they would be expanded upon in the next film.

In the “The Secrets of Dumbledore,” perhaps the biggest question that required answering was Barebone’s relationship to the Dumbledore’s. Though an answer is provided, its brevity and shoehorned implementation ultimately render it unsatisfying. The same may be said for the state of witch Queenie Goldstein (Alison Sudol, “Between Us”) following her defection to Grindelwald’s army in “The Crimes of Grindelwald.” Though her decision was played out as a shocking twist, it is ultimately swept under the rug and given a disappointingly swift resolution.

Replacing original actor Johnny Depp (“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales”) Mikkelsen had some big shoes to fill playing Grindelwald. Through his suave, nuanced delivery and imposing demeanor, Mikkelsen provides a major redeeming factor for the film through what is its most memorable performance. When compared to Depp’s more crazed, mencing take on the character, Mikkelsen seemingly has the advantage over him as the arguably better version of the dark wizard.

With the possibility of a sequel up in the air, one could ony hope the minds behind “Fantastic Beasts” could find a way to make it more worthwhile for fan sof the “Wizarding World” to watch. After experiencing the highs most the “Harry Potter” films reached, its disheartening to witness the lows its prequels have stooped to.

Image from Warner Bros. via YouTube