Warning: spoilers 

Fantastic Beasts: Secrets of Dumbledore, the sequel to Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald was extremely compelling to watch. 

The first aspect of note is the replacement of Johnny Depp as Gellert Grindelwald. He was replaced by Mads Mikkelsen. For those who followed the Amber Heard vs. Johnny Depp defamation trial, you know that Johnny Depp lost many jobs— including this movie. 

I can appreciate this replacement though, simply because I think that the makeup and costume people on set of Crimes of Grindelwald dressed Depp up to look more like Jack Frost than a villain in a Harry Potter movie. Mikkelsen plays the main villain and love interest, Grindelwald, in Secrets of Dumbledore and does not look like Jack Frost. 

Major plot twist: Grindelwald is Dumbledore’s former love. It was time for Warner Brothers to incorporate an LGBTQ+ love interest in a Harry Potter or Fantastic Beasts movie. 

The plot covers Dumbledore’s blood pact with Grindelwald, which could never be broken and would never let them duel. It also includes the Qilin, which is the Wizarding World’s purest creature, and how Grindelwald hopes to destroy the Muggle World (the non-magical world), which would in turn destroy the Wizarding World. 

To defeat Grindelwald, Dumbledore recruits Newt Scamander (a magical zoologist, a person who studies magical animals), Bunty (Scamander’s assistant), Jacob Kowalski (a muggle who is in love with a witch who was forced to work with Grindelwald), Theseus Scamander (Newt Scamander’s brother), Eualilie Hicks (a professor at Hogwarts), and Yusuf Kama (Leta Lestrange’s brother, from the infamous Lestrange family). 

There is a lot to unpack here. I won’t spoil the outcome of the blood pact between Dumbledore and Grindelwald. I will say that the Wizarding World’s purest creature, Qilin, is used to decide who will be the next leader of the International Confederation of Wizards. Grindelwald is running against two other opponents. Gaining power of the Wizarding World would enable him to have even more power over the Muggle World. 

With his crew, Dumbledore has to try to defeat Grindelwald before Grindelwald is able to gain power over the Wizarding World. This task is extremely difficult because Grindelwald has the power to see into the future and predict any moves made against him. 

Overall, I would give this movie a 9.5 out of 10. I appreciate how closely linked this Fantastic Beasts movie is to the original Harry Potter books and movies. My only critique is that it took me a while to get into the movie. I really enjoyed watching the movie, and I think the plot was created with extreme attention to detail.