David Yates' 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' Review

David Yates is known for directing the later instalments of the Harry Potter, and his telling of the world of magic outside of Hogwarts in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them feels no different.

With the screenplay by J. K. Rowling herself, the film very much feels like an extension of the wizards and witches she introduced us to years ago, and I must say: if every having J. K. Rowling write the screenplay is a genius idea to ensure the quality of the film sticks to its source material. It has me questioning why it doesn't happen more often. Would other film adaptations be successful if they had the original source creator work on them as well?

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is clearly the beginning on an extended universe, but it doesn't particularly feel like such; we saw a completely set of new creatures and characters in a location and time period that were either not mentioned in the Harry Potter books, or simply mentioned once and never again. The film actually felt new, and that's because it was. It wasn't afraid to try something new in an already-established universe.

That said, characters weren't entirely perfect, but I feel as if that is simply down to the casting. I feel these films tend to perform best when the main characters are relatively unknown, so you immediately associate that actor to that character, rather than the opposite. It's not a big issue that can ruin your experience, but personally, it can distract occasionally. My only real dislike was the heavy use of special effects, which these days can feel so inauthentic and cheap.

I'm interested in how the next film turns out, and whether it will stick to a new and original feeling, or attempt to carry off of the success and story of this one. Which is the case with most films now.