Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is the sequel to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which was released in 2016. The first film ends with Gellert Grindelwald being captured by MACUSA (Magical Congress of the USA). Grindelwald escaped during the prison transfer to London. Fast forward to three months, Newt Scamander appeals to the Ministry of Magic to get back his international travel rights. Newt runs into Leta Lestrange while at the Ministry of Magic. Leta Lestrange is engaged to Newt’s brother Theseus. Afterwards, Newt is secretly summoned by Dumbledore. Newt arrives home and shortly after his friends from America, Queenie and Jacob arrive without notice. Queenie and Jacob are following Queenie’s sister, Tina, to Europe. Tina is in Europe to search for Credence. Tina suddenly leaves to find Tina and Newt ignores his travel ban and follows her to Paris with Jacob.
Tina begins her search for Credence at a wizard freak show. Credence escapes with a girl named Nagini. Grimmson, who secretly works for Grindelwald, arrives and kills Nagini. Tina meets Yusuf Kama, who is also looking for Credence. Newt and Jacob arrive and also meet Yusuf Kama, which leads them to follow Tina. A trail leads Credence to the Lestrange tomb where Grindelwald is holding a rally for all of his followers. Grindelwald casts a large circle of blue flame in an attempt to divide his followers from the enemies. Grindelwald then escapes and the remaining heroes unite to fight off a curse that Grindelwald set at Paris. The film ends with Grindelwald giving Credence his first wand, in which he uses to cast a spell for the very first time.
I enjoyed watching this film more than the first Fantastic Beasts film. I thought the plot was confusing when I was watching, however the ending made it more clear. I thought the film was very entertaining and magical. The acting was incredible and the visual effects were brilliant. I am a huge fan of Johnny Depp and I thought he did a fantastic job playing Grindelwald. The beasts looked real, so I thought they did a good job with that. I must note that you have to watch the first part of the sequel to understand the plot so if you haven’t seen the first one, watch it first. Overall, it was a great film and I recommend watching.