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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:
IceRebel · 18/11/2018 08:34

It can't be her grandmother as although they share the same first name McGonagall is her muggle father's surname.

It's a very strange oversight, and one that lots of fans are confused over.

MeltingWax · 18/11/2018 08:36

I thought Jude Law was mighty fine as Dumbledore Smile.

I watched it in a packed screening where the audience applauded at the end.

obviouslymarvellous · 18/11/2018 08:40

Watched it on Friday - I did really enjoy it but a few things bug me... how did Dumbledore go from thinking let's wear a suit in the 20's to robes??? How did Credance survive and the biggest one how does Grindlewald know who he supposedly is? The other bit that made me literally laugh out loud was Nicholas Flamel, the guy just looked ridiculous and I couldn't take him seriously.

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Helmetbymidnight · 18/11/2018 08:43

Oh yes he was.

There were things we were expected to know that we weren’t shown well/early enough, ever:
Dumbledores power.
Credences power
Grindlewalds crimes and why he wants credence.

Maybe I expect things dumbledored down, (little joke( but clearer signposting of these would have been helpful.

IceRebel · 18/11/2018 08:44

If Credence is indeed who Grindlewald says he is then that's another thing that will bug me. Leta does what she does on the ship (being vague to avoid spoilers) and the other one just happens to be wizard. Surely lots on the ship will have been muggles, so the likelihood of it being another wizard and one from that family is very unlikely?

8misskitty8 · 18/11/2018 08:46

Professor mcgonagill in this film could be her grandmother. She was shown in flashback to when newt was at hogwarts so counting the years between that and when HP mcgonagill was supposed to be born it could fit.

During the film various characters make reference to a poem/book which I think is a clue to who credence really is. I think grindlewald was telling a half truth to him. He was not meaning his body was a .

IceRebel · 18/11/2018 09:45

Maybe I expect things dumbledored down

Poor joke but it made me laugh. Grin

KeepServingTheDrinks · 18/11/2018 10:08

I loved it, and I definitely want a niffler for Christmas!

Rowenaravenclawsdiadem · 18/11/2018 10:13

Grindelwald is a seer which is how he may know who credence really is.

At the end of Fantastic Beasts you see a tiny bit of the obscurial floating away, this is Credence.

I thought bits of it were quite hard to follow like when all the black sheeting or whatever it was came down and covered the buildings. I didn’t get that bit.

Dumbledore wears muggle clothes when he goes to see Tom riddle at the orphanage. Maybe as he gets older he lets himself go a bit. I would wear a night shirt all day if I could.

Sewrainbow · 18/11/2018 10:27

How do we know how old mcgonagall is? I thought it was feasible to be her as a young teacher? I thought wizards were supposed to age differently hence Dumbledore looking the same in the flashback as he does in the beasts one and still being a head teacher in the hp stories?

Sewrainbow · 18/11/2018 10:29

I thought it was good, looking forward to see how it plays out. My kids 7 & 9 liked and followed it and do liked it and he is no hp fan.

PsammeadPaintedTheLion · 18/11/2018 10:29

There are another 3 films - enough time to explain plot holes. At this point, not everything may be as it seems.

The main thing that bugged me was the prison break at the start. What was the point of waiting for the transfer?

Oopsy41 · 18/11/2018 10:29

I loved the first one but was really disappointed with this one too. Found the story really vague and it definitely needed more creatures

Sewrainbow · 18/11/2018 10:30

I also thought it had a lot of echoes to Nazi Germany and how people were swayed by Hitler in the early days.

wiccamum · 18/11/2018 10:35

Agree with the Nazi echoing, interesting use of charisma and personality swaying peoples judgment at a time of upheaval...I thought that was very well done.

And Jude Law. And his beard...his coat...very...yes, well I thought it was a very good film Blush

Lineofbeauty · 18/11/2018 10:36

Went with DD10 last night. Her conclusion: too complicated and too many sub-plots. I agreed, very hard to follow and also too long for no reason.

InglouriousBasterd · 18/11/2018 10:36

Oh I loved it. As did Dd 8. Very HP which we loved.

IceRebel · 18/11/2018 12:28

@sewrainbow, we're never explicitly told which year she was born, but fans (much more involved than I) have worked out a probable year, 1935.

scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/91429/when-was-professor-mcgonagall-born

Where as the crimes of Grindlewald is set in 1927

MrsRolly · 18/11/2018 12:31

We loved it, but you absolutely needed to have a knowledge of the books as well as the HP films to understand some of the inferred subplots in the storylines. I did think it was a trilogy so was a middle building film but have since found out it is five films. Think the casting is brilliant. Need to see it again to absorb more of all more details I think. My 12 year old DD is a huge fan of HP and she loved it.

Mhw02 · 18/11/2018 13:18

I really enjoyed the film, thought it was very emotional and left a lot of questions for the later films in the series.

Thought Jude Law was excellent as young Dumbledore. And I thought Queenie's transformation was quite realistic (though would have worked better in a book as it would have been explored in more depth).

Irma left me in tears, as did Leta, and my heart is breaking for Nagini, knowing what is going to happen to her, but not how she will get there.

I hope we find out in later films what happened to Modesty, as she wasn't mentioned in this one.

I suspect Credence's identity is a manipulation on Grindelwald's part. He could be related to the family, but I don't believe for a second that it's as straightforward as his being a brother (the dates don't work anyway as his supposed father was in prison when Credence was born).

I was really annoyed about McGonagall being in it though; it states quite clearly in Order of the Phoenix that she has been teaching at Hogwarts for 39 years. So she can't have been at Hogwarts when Newt was there. It also can't be her grandmother, as it was her maternal family, whose surname was Ross, who were magical.

Sewrainbow · 18/11/2018 14:54

Interesting about mcgonagall, thanks those who replied

Newspeak · 18/11/2018 15:07

I agree with pp that it was a little disappointing. Apart from the big reveal at the end nothing really happens and as for the mcgonagal thing it bugs me sooooo much. The beauty of the WW universe is the seamless transitions as if it has been planned that way from the conception. There are very few plot holes considering that everything JK has ever said is scrutinised to the nth degree. It seemed so pointless to make the professor mcgonagal when it wasn't a pivotal role they didn't add to the plot line at all. I can only hope it is tied up in the next film.

ER was again fantastic and JL an excellent casting for dumbledore. In fact the casting generally was spot on. The plot in this film has for me let it down. If you had no knowledge of the WW universe you would not get it at all and the mark of a great film is the test of wether it could be a stand alone film in its own right. This sadly does not pass that test.

A second viewing is definitely needed to understand and catch some of the nuance.

IceRebel · 18/11/2018 19:34

It seemed so pointless to make the professor mcgonagal when it wasn't a pivotal role they didn't add to the plot line at all.

Exactly, take out that character and you wouldn't miss her. So to make it a character we already know, and one who can't realistically be there, as she hasn't even been born yet makes no sense. Sad

Reallybadidea · 18/11/2018 22:49

Maybe McGonagall is a helluva lot older than she said she was in HP because she was too vain to admit it...bit of a stretch I know!

underneaththeash · 18/11/2018 23:30

We saw it today. Unless you were a HP fan you'd struggle with the storyline. Me and DS1 (12) loved it. DS2(10) was a bit confused at times.

Nicholas Flamel and the stone was great though..I like the references to the wizarding families.