JASON EVANS' 100-WORD REVIEWS: Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore

 Still nothing magical in these prequels

Film critic Jason Evans has made it his mission to tell you everything you need to know about movies in less time than it takes to say, "Abracadabra." His reviews are exactly 100 words long (never 99, and 101 would be sinful). Here is his 100-word review of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.

The Premise – Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) has made a pact that prevents him from attacking the dangerous wizard Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen). So, he recruits Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) and several of Newt’s friends to spy on Grindelwald and figure out his plans. They discover that Grindelwald wants to win the election to be the Supreme Leader of all wizards. But, without Dumbledore’s help, can they possibly foil the evil wizard’s plans?

The 100 Words – None of the Fantastic Beasts films have been particularly good. Like the others, this one is painfully thin on character development with a scatterbrained story and several jarring tonal shifts. I suppose it is better than the disaster that was the second film, but I remain unattached to the characters and uninterested in their journey. The effects are strong, there are some humorous moments, and Mikkelsen is always worth watching, but the script just doesn’t have a sense of where it is going or how to get there. Other than filling JK’s bulging wallet, there’s no reason these films exist.

Reach out to Jason Evans on Twitter @JasonDukeEvans