From 2016 with the Harry Potter spin-off Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Warner Bros. recapture the nostalgia and wonder that introduced us to a world of magic, wizards, witches and a fantastic story, based of course on the books by JK Rowling. The source material was there, which may be why all the movies in the Harry Potter franchise achieved stratospheric box office success and critical acclaim despite having multiple directors on its eight-film epic journey.
On the other hand, Fantastic Beasts didn’t have the luxury of a abundance of source material. The book “Fantastic Beasts” is a guide to all the magical beasts in the Harry Potter universe (It’s essentially the book Newt writes in the first movie). That’s one of the reasons these movies seemed to clash and end up suffering from some things the studio had no control over, like the controversy surrounding the actors involved in the film.
Mainly because of the lackluster stories, static characters with no clear purpose or development, and ultimately the failure to do justice to the historical importance of these events in the bigger picture. Harry Potter franchise, de Fantastic Beasts trilogy pales in comparison to the eight film’s cinematic excellence Harry Potter series. The battle between Dumbledore and Grindelwald is considered the most extraordinary wizarding duel in history. However, what we get in the third film (if indeed it is the last film in the franchise) isn’t exactly “extraordinary.” Will there be a sequel in the Fantastic Beasts franchise is still up in the air, but the third movie definitely had a tone of finality. With that in mind, here’s every movie in the Fantastic Beasts trilogy, ranked from worst to best.
3/3 Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
The second episode in the trilogy, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, is the weakest of the three. Johhny Depp stars as the franchise’s titular character and villain: Gellert Grindelwald. The film also introduces a young Dumbledore, brilliantly played by Jude Law. Law only has a few scenes in this film, but he manages to steal the show, with his performance being one of the highlights of this otherwise disjointed failure of a sequel.
The Crimes of Grindelwald revolves around Creedence and his mysterious identity. There’s a reason Grindelwald is so desperate for him, and we find out why in the film’s closing moments, when Grindelwald tells him his real name is Aurelius Dumbledore. He also fills his head with lies about how his relative Albus Dumbledore abandoned him and made him suffer. Overall, the movie is a fun sequel, adds context to the lore and leaves audiences with a huge cliffhanger.
2/3 Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore was a step higher than its predecessor. However, it still suffers from tempo issues, one-dimensional characters, and one of the main characters of the franchise’s notable absence from the film. Tina Goldstein, played by Katherine Waterston, the female lead in the first two films and Newt Scamander’s love interest, does not appear in the film except for a brief moment at the very end of the film. This is not the fault of the filmmakers, but rather a personal decision made by waterston due to the controversy surrounding transphobic comments from the author of the Harry Potter JK Rowling book series. Nevertheless, it was a little shocking not to have Tina part of the group that ordered Dumbledore to take down Grindelwald after seeing her on the front lines of the wizarding war with Newt in the previous two episodes.
if Secrets of Dumbledore is the last episode in the Fantastic Beasts franchise, the duel between Dumbledore and Grindelwald, which in Harry Potter lore is considered the most incredible wizarding duel of all time, left a lot to be desired. From now on, future Fantastic Beasts deadlines are not yet known. If that continues, this movie could technically close the saga, but it wouldn’t be canonically related to the end of Dumbledore and Grindelwald’s feud, which ended in 1945. This movie is set about ten years before that, in the 1950s. thirty.
1/3 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
The movie that reintroduced us to the wizarding world (albeit in a brand new location), Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is by far the best of the three films in the franchise. Eddie Redmayne is phenomenal as the clumsy yet incredibly brave and good-hearted Newt Scamander. Newt is a magi-zoologist who is writing a book about magical creatures. He also carries a briefcase containing the magical creatures he has rescued and trained over the years. Colin Farrell plays the main antagonist, the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald, who has disguised himself as a member of the Magical Congress of the United States of America, or MACUSA for short, which is essentially the American version of the Ministry of Magic.
Fantastic Beasts also introduces us to Tina Goldstein, a former Auror who has been demoted for her obsession with a group of Salem-style witch hunters. Goldstein eventually arrests Newt for accidentally dropping his magic briefcase into the hands of a Muggle. The film is well paced, well acted, has lots of action and heart, and builds to a climax that, while satisfying, is sure to leave audiences wanting more. in the end, Fantastic Beasts regains much of the essence of wonder and delight the Harry Potter movies attracted a lot of viewers, which is why fans and critics alike raved about the film. For these and other reasons, we chose the first film of the trilogy for the number one spot on our list.