When the final Harry Potter film ended on that close-up of Harry, Ron and Hermione, fans were both devastated and left wondering if the costume department ran out of cash.

Seriously, they looked like young people in old-people Halloween make-up and I’m still convinced that was a pillow under Rupert Grint’s shirt.

Then the Fantastic Beasts franchise launched, based once more in JK Rowling’s world. The first film was a great success, and Potterheads were once again able to leave their muggle lives behind and immerse themselves in magic.

The much-anticipated sequel, The Crimes of Grindelwald is about to hit SA cinemas, but this time around, people seem to be a little more critical of what’s coming.

First, everyone lost it when the trailer revealed that Voldemort’s snake/Horcrux Nagini used to be a witch.

Take a look:

Then everyone got stuck on the fact that the trailer shows people apparating into Hogwarts.

Yes, yes, I am aware that you can’t apparate in and out of Hogwarts – take your finger off the Hermione GIF. That said, this seems to be the least of the film’s problems, if this Mashable review is anything to go on:

There are something like a dozen major characters and half a dozen storylines in Crimes of Grindelwald. In addition, there are subplots within subplots, supporting characters with their own supporting characters, Easter eggs butting up against other Easter eggs, and secrets stacked on top of secrets, until the whole precarious pile comes tumbling down in a chaotic third act.

And, yes, occasionally, a fantastic beast will wander through – just often enough to remind you that the title of this film series is Fantastic Beasts. Niffler and Pickett are still the best ones, though an enormous cat-like creature called the Zouwu gets some adorable moments, too. Mostly, I got the sense that the creators regretted saddling themselves with the animal theme.

Mmmm. That’s not sounding too promising. To top it off, Johnny Depp’s portrayal of Grindelwald isn’t going to win any Oscars.

As for his nemesis, Grindelwald, Johnny Depp is fine, if you can forget about his ugly personal life. He’s neither as magnetic as he was in his early Piratesheyday nor as irritating as he’s been in the recent Kevin Smith movies – and he doesn’t hold a candle to Colin Farrell, who played a disguised version of the character in the first Fantastic Beasts.

Overall, the film is being described as “half-arsed” and “undercooked”.

Whatever, I’m in it for Hogwarts.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald arrives in cinemas on November 14.

[source:mashable]