Well here we go – it’s been a long 5 years, but the Potter Universe is back with a BANG!
With her first screenplay and a whole new raft of characters and creatures, JK Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is the movie 2016 needed.
It feels instantly familiar and cosy without having to rely on past glories.
There are plenty of links back to Hogwarts and the world we already know, but this is a new game, with new rules and plenty of new dangers lurking.
We are in prohibition-era New York and a mysterious benevolent force is causing all sorts of terror and is putting all the wizarding folk in danger of being discovered by No-Majs (American for Muggles).
There is a weird Scientology-type sect called the Second Salemers (led by a slightly underused Samantha Morton) and the whispered rumours of a missing dark wizard called Gellert Grindelwald.
Simultaneously bringing light relief is our hero Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne seemingly channeling Matt Smith’s Doctor) teamed up with an ex-aurora, a mind reader and a bumbling No-Maj – excellently played by Dan Fogler.
As you’ll have seen from the trailer, a whole raft of beasts escape from Newt’s suitcase – sending them on a madcap chase through Manhattan to collect them all before all hell breaks loose.
There is a LOT going on here. It’s an origin story setting up a brand new world without the benefit of a best-selling book to familiarise us, so at times it does feel as though lots gets rushed through.
It’s a minor niggle – this is a busy but brilliant re-introduction to one of the most successful franchises in the world.
See my full review this Friday in The Sun.