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The Crimes of Grindelwald (spoiler alert..sort of)

74 replies

StillMedusa · 16/11/2018 20:44

Or ..two hours and 20 minutes of my life that I'll never get back.

Went with DS1 to see it tonight and was so disappointed. OK I knew it wasn't going to be as good as the HP films, but I had enjoyed Magical Beasts for the creatures last time. Not this time..I was actually bored
Sad
If you plan to take children.. the plot is long and multi stranded and vague with not a lot of action! And no resolution. And not enough creatures.
The next one had better be good!

OP posts:
GandolfBold · 16/11/2018 22:25

I loved it!

idlenook · 17/11/2018 09:32

(Slight spoiler alert)

I enjoyed a lot of it, but the scene with the very young child being killed early in the film cast a pall over the rest of it for me. I get why it was done, but it was very nasty in what has been marketed as a family film, albeit for older kids Sad

ThomasRichard · 17/11/2018 09:34

I thought the evil kids in Fantastic Beasts were really quite disturbing. No need for it IMO and it means that HP-loving 8yo DS hasn’t seen it. Looks like he won’t be seeing this one either.

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MadMum101 · 17/11/2018 09:37

8 year old DS seeing it this afternoon. Been desperately waiting for it. Is it not suitable then?

BedHair · 17/11/2018 09:52

Sorry, slight thread derail, as I’m asking about the HP films, not HB but at what age did your children watch the films from Goblet of Fire onward? I have t seen them, but I imagine they become very dark.

ThomasRichard · 17/11/2018 10:49

BedHair my 8yo has seen all the films but snuggled up on the sofa with me, lights on and popcorn. He’d read the books first so knew what was coming.

TheGonnagle · 17/11/2018 10:51

We went last night and all loved it. Dark certainly, and yes, lots going on in the plot. But my dd is 8 and utterly loved it.

BakedBeans47 · 17/11/2018 10:53

I didn’t have a fucking clue what was going on.

Wish I’d gone to see bohemian rhapsody again!

lljkk · 17/11/2018 11:11

17yo Dd went last night & loved it. She thought it might be too violent/scary for her 10yo brother, though.

lljkk · 17/11/2018 11:12

scene with the very young child being killed early in the film...

There's a massacre of young children in one of the Star Wars films. Perpetuated by the erstwhile hero in the moment when he finally turns bad. Nobody seems to blink an eye, but it is grim.

MadMum101 · 17/11/2018 16:12

DS was enthralled by the HP films which he watched at age 7, even the last two which were very dark and I said he couldn't watch initially.

When I said they weren't suitable he looked at me like Hmm and said I know they're only acting and it's not real blood.

He's at the cinema now with two adult sibs, so awaiting his reaction!

Aragog · 17/11/2018 16:17

We went last night and enjoyed it, even DH who isn't a huge HP fan.
It is long and it is quite detailed in places. It is better if you have a working knowledge of HP, including the books and not just the films. We found that it was starting to fill some gaps and answer some questions, but also opened up new ones. We knew it wouldn't have a proper conclusion as we already knew it was a ilm which would give a fair bit of information and set the scenes for the next films to come.

Its a 12 and long - so some younger children will find it harder going, especially if they don't know the "wizarding world" so well and aren't at the concentrating stage.

scene with the very young child being killed early in the film...

To be fair the very first Harry Potter book starts with the attempted murder of a baby. Its the whole basis of the stories.

GenderApostate · 17/11/2018 17:40

The ending though 🙄
It’s got to be manipulation, hasn’t it?

Went with adult DD, who is a Potter uber-geek, her face at the end was pure WTAF. She’s not happy.

lljkk · 18/11/2018 07:48

Mark Kermode says the film tries to do too much, tell too much story, so just ends up overly long & disjointed, complicated.

RedDwarves · 18/11/2018 07:48

I liked it... with exceptions. I think the plot was confused, with too many storylines and not enough explanation of characters/plots/motives. I also think that there were several things which directly contradicted what we know from Harry Potter. This really irks me, as the screenplay has been written by JK Rowling, so she should know better than to contradict the Harry Potter canon.

Ultimately, though, its biggest flaw is that it doesn't have a book series to go along with it. Where the HP movies were let down or had plot holes, the books would make up for it. This isn't the case with Fantastic Beasts.

MrTumblesSpottyHag · 18/11/2018 07:57

I loved it! DH thought it was good too and he's not really a fan. We're going to watch it on dvd together when it comes out so that he can ask all the questions that were bugging him because he doesn't know the HP books!

Helmetbymidnight · 18/11/2018 08:02

We found it hugely entertaining but...complex.
Beautiful to look at, stylish, fun etc but plot could have been so much clearer.
Kids 9/10 enjoyed it (big hp fans) but didn’t know what was going on.

NeverTalksToStrangers · 18/11/2018 08:09

Possible Spoiler alert

I loved it. I spent the last hour with my hand over my mouth. I was expecting less because of the reviews but genuinely thought it was fabulous. Yes, it's complicated and yes it's very potter, but wasn't a criticism of the original movies that they weren't potter enough?

The bit about mcgonagall being there before she was born was a bit Confused ( but i confess I didn't pick up on it though Smile and they might try to explain it away with time turners). Watching the first movie i was initially annoyed by Queenie, but very quickly went to thinking her and Jacob were the sweetest couple ever, so the whole ending with her was gut wrenching. I don't think the big ending is manipulation because of what Dumbledore said about phoenix early on.

I know we're seeing the modern Hollywood version, but weren't the 20s so stylish?

IceRebel · 18/11/2018 08:10

I want to know how Credence is still alive, and I would appreciate a written version as i'm sure I missed some key hints as there was just too much going on.

The only thing that spoilt it for me was the number of young children in the cinema. One couldn't have been more than 4, which was ridiculous. Angry

NeverTalksToStrangers · 18/11/2018 08:16

I think the thing with Credence was that he should have already been dead in the first movie, say 8 years before, but he was so powerful he had kept himself alive. With the reveal of who he is, this makes sense.

The original HP books and movies never show us that much of Dumbledore's immense power, but we know he is supposed to have it and that others fear him.

IceRebel · 18/11/2018 08:21

An explanation of how he had managed to survive would have been nice. He only got a wand at the end and trying to suppress the magic / lack of magical education for so long, surely he wouldn't have had the same knowledge as Albus at the same age.

Minesril · 18/11/2018 08:22

I really enjoyed it, will have to watch again to get absolutely everything. With regards the contradiction of HP canon, I think you need to say 'how can that be' rather than 'jk messed up'. For example that could be mcgonagall's mother!

NeverTalksToStrangers · 18/11/2018 08:26

Ice rebel I don't know that we need one. He hid when he reformed? Self preservation? Half of MACUSA were trying to kill him, after all. Up until that point no one had been trying to kill him.

NeverTalksToStrangers · 18/11/2018 08:28

Minesril... Twitter have already explored this. Her mother was called something different and the screenplay apparently says Minerva. Her grandmother though, possibly, but she didn't look that old.

NoSquirrels · 18/11/2018 08:30

knew it wouldn't have a proper conclusion as we already knew it was a ilm which would give a fair bit of information and set the scenes for the next films to come

The whole movie was based on this - setting up the next ones. Which is a really poor show, frankly.

I loved the first FB movie - it was magical, it was fun, it had a gripping dramatic storyline alongside characters you cared about.

This one was such a disappointment compared to that. Big shame. If it’s a trilogy OK. If they try to stretch to 5 films I think that just smacks of exploitation. It’s become a Potter prequel rather than a story set in its own right that is set in the magical universe.

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