Let’s not kid ourselves. The Fantastic Beasts trilogy is the quintessence of what every movie franchise eventually turns into, 11 movies down: unengaging screen fillers banking on the brand success of the first few original films.

While 11 movies may sound like much, we have to take into account that eight of those were based on the Harry Potter novels that needed to be condensed and adapted into screenplays.

The Fantastic Beasts movies are original screenplays by J.K. Rowling, and were given a polish by Steve Kloves, the co-screenwriter of the Potter movie-verse. Herein lies this spin-off series’ biggest problem. Most of what we see in these magical movies seems redundant and fluff, which desperately needed the support of the original book series’ prominent faces to evoke an emotional response.

This leads us to: Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. The title literally spells out the movie. There is a secret (though not a huge or even a moderately average one for that matter), and it has to do with Dumbledore (played in this series by Jude Law).

In Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, Newt Salamander is put on the backburner in a plot about rigged elections, which makes this a better film than its predecessors

Now let me confess: despite seeing the prior two films in the Fantastic Beasts line-up, I don’t remember much from them. What I do recall is a smattering of jumbled up scenes that held little (if any) emotional appeal. This lack mostly has to do with Newt Salamander, the magizoologist (a professional who studies magical creatures) played by Eddie Redmayne.

Redmayne is uncharismatic and still mostly lost in the role, even though he gets massive support from the fantastic beasts he curates and gives sanctuaries to in his magical briefcase. The creatures are cute and magical (what else would they be, duh!), but they can’t sustain a film franchise that banks on strong bonds of relationships.

This is where Dumbledore fits in. Salamander, and his returning crew, are put on the backburner in what is a miniscule plot about the power of elections and elected officials.

Strangely timely — yes. Adult in context — very.

In the 1930’s, Albus Dumbledore can’t lay a finger on his once-lover Gellert Grindelwald because of their magical blood-pact (the role, once given to Johnny Depp, is now played to perfection by Mads Mikkelsen). Grindelwald is acquitted of his crimes and wants to win the International Confederation of Wizards’ elections in Berlin.

The film is suitably darker, with a Bambi-like moment in the very beginning: Grindelwald’s goons (one of them Ezra Miller, aka the Flash from Zack Snyder’s Justice League) kill a Qilin mother that has just given birth to twins.

Qilins are rare fawn-like creatures who hold unusual sway when it comes to bagging electoral votes (the climax makes this vague bit very clear); the creature has the power to recognise a person’s ability to lead, based on their resolve and purity of heart. The creatures’ other gift includes precognition.

Salamander manages to save one, while the other is abducted by the villains. Soon, in another gut-wrenching scene, Grindelwald slays the baby Qilin to see the future, and then uses necromancy (the power to raise the dead to do their bidding) to fool everyone into thinking he is worthy of leadership.

Election rigging 101? Definitely. At the very least, this gives us grown-ups a moment to chuckle.

The film’s shift in tone and its reliance on Dumbledore’s family holds your attention during the two-and-a-half hours’ running time (his brother Arbus gets a side story that links to Ezra Miller’s character). The making by series veteran David Yates, or the visual effects, do not warrant much digital ink: by now they’re like a well-oiled machine; they get the job done just fine with streamlined, factory-like precision.

Surprisingly, The Secrets of Dumbledore is the best the Fantastic Beasts’ series has to offer till now. With, perhaps, two more films to go, the story (which should have been the essential ingredient anyways) could get better from here out. Maybe.

Released by Warner Bros. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is rated PG-13.

Although a bit dark, this is still good-enough kiddie fare that the adults won’t mind going to.

Published in Dawn, ICON, April 24th, 2022