The Dark Lord Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) escapes from magical prison transport. Like Voldemort after him, Grindelwald sets out to dominate the Muggles. He hopes to enlist the troubled Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller) to his cause. Meanwhile, magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) is travel-banned after the mayhem in the last film. Dumbledore (Jude Law) helps Newt get to Paris to find Credence.
There's quite a bit of subplots thrown in. Leta Lestrange (Zoe Kravitz), Newt's future sister-in-law, has a secret key to Credence's past. So does Yusuf Karma (William Nadylam). Credence surely wants to know who he is, too. There's also Nagini (Claudia Kim), Voldemort's future familiar, here a woman cursed to one day become a permanent snake. Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler) and his girlfriend, Queenie (Alison Sudol), have issues to sort out.
David Yates once again visualizes a script from JK Rowling herself. Like the first film, this entry has a bunch of details crammed into a tight 135 minutes. Credence's true identity is revealed after a convoluted assortment of exposition. The final reveal is a bit confusing, but still surprising. Nagini is underutilized compared to her future importance. Once again, it's a relief that there's no pop quiz after the movie.
The cast does great with what they have. Redmayne as Newt is still a likable nerd. Even though Redmayne is older than Callum Turner, who plays his brother Theseus, you'll believe he is the younger one. Law as Dumbledore makes for a great wise and crafty wizard. Kim as Nagini is sympathetic, which makes her tragic in hindsight. Kravitz as Leta is compelling as well. Leta's revelation is shocking, but she doesn't lose her audience sympathy. Depp as Grendelwald is charismatic and his goals are understandable. Still, world domination doesn't seem the best way to do them.
Among the supporting cast, Fiona Glascott completely nails her brief cameo as a young Professor McGonagall.
The technical wizards once again conjure up great cinematic magic. The travelling circus where Nagini is introduced was a delight in CGI and production design. The giant cat-like ZouWu is a cool creature design. The other creatures and spells were dazzling, as usual. The costumes designed by Colleen Atwood are as unique as the sets. The cinematography by Philipe Rousselot continues the first film's dark and fanciful mood pretty well. The moods are accentuated perfectly by James Newton Howard's score.
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is an OK prequel. Its heavy exposition is more perplexing than shocking. But it has a few good moments that save it from disaster. One can only wonder how they'll fill three more films of the Potter Prequelness. I'll wonder how they'll fill the remaining eighteen on-screen years before Grindelwald is finally defeated. Let's hope the next film gives us some good answers.
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