Review: The promise of enchantment still beckons in 'The Secrets of Dumbledore'

By Peter Travers

Bring out the butterbeer, there’s another "Harry Potter" movie afoot. OK, I’m lying. "Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore," only in theaters, is merely Potter-adjacent. It’s the third in a J.K. Rowling series of five prequels that ease back to a time (the 1930s) before the fictional boy wizard from Hogwarts was even born on July 31, 1980.

How will the born-to-be-mild "FB3" fare at a box office still reeling from pandemic protocols? The first film, in 2016, was titled "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" and scored modestly with audiences and critics. The second, in 2018, was subtitled "The Crimes of Grindelwald" and was met with waves of cool indifference from all.

Warner Bros. Pictures via AP

Jessica Williams, Callum Turner, Jude Law, Fionna Glascott, Dan Fogler and Eddie Redmayne appear in a scene from "Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore."

In short, the pressure is on for "The Secrets of Dumbledore" to revive a flagging franchise, starting with the open secret that future Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) is gay and once loved the villainous Gellert Grindelwald, previously played by Johnny Depp who is now beset with harassment charges and was replaced by Bond bad boy Mads Mikkelsen.

Got that? No matter. Younger audiences, whose parents aren’t put off by the PG-13 rating, will be pleased that Eddie Redmayne is back in action as magizoologist Newt Scamander, along with those adorably fantastic creatures he smuggles around in his briefcase.

Yea, Newt! You’ll love his hip-swiveling dance with merry -- if menacing -- crustaceans. And cheers to his critters. The tree stem-sized Pickett is in the mix and still a whimsical marvel of computer-generated creativity. Ditto Qilin (pronounced "chillin"), a combo of deer and dragon who springs surprises even when the narrative slogs when it most needs to soar.

Luckily, Team Newt also includes his Muggle buddy Jacob Kowalski (the hilarious Dan Fogler), a New York baker still crushing on Queenie Goldstein (Alison Sudol) who is disturbingly drawn to Grindelwald. Then there’s Newt’s brother Theseus Scamander (Callum Turner) and Lally Hicks (Jessica Williams), a newbie who teaches charms at an American version of Hogwarts.

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Callum Turner and Eddie Redmayne appear in a scene from "Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore."

What the kiddies will make of the film’s dark intimations of fascism and world war is another matter. Grindelwald, who can see into the future, means to seize control of the wizarding world. Direct confrontation is forbidden by a pact Dumbledore made with his former lover. So it’s Newt and his fantastic beasts to the rescue. How? I’ll never tell.

Another fly in the ointment is Credence, a so-called orphan with anger management issues played by Ezra Miller, who was recently arrested for disorderly conduct, adding another public relations headache to a film with problems no magic wand can zap away.

The good news is that "FB3" is a distinct improvement on its overcrowded, overwrought predecessor. It helps having Potter veteran Steve Kloves collaborating with Rowling on the screenplay. And David Yates, who previously directed four Potter films, shows a sure hand at steering a runaway plot that travels from New York and London to Berlin and Bhutan.

Look, the "Fantastic Beasts" franchise will never be Harry Potter. There’s no Harry, no Ron, no Hermione. But for those fascinated by the origins of the wizarding world, the promise of enchantment still beckons. Best of all, there’s magic in it. And that counts for a lot.