nineveh_uk: Picture of ring with serpent, and text "The crux of the matter" (Harry Potter icon)
[personal profile] nineveh_uk
It being the middle of term, dark, cold, and tiring, I took myself to the cinema to see this yesterday evening - Mondays being cheap and my expectations low - and massively clunky title notwithstanding, I enjoyed it very much. Indeed I enjoyed it more than the first film, when I felt the various animal chase sequences went on a bit. Its principal weakness is that it is clearly the middle film of a series, with a lot of set up and limited resolution, and cramming too much plot into it so that some characters are not developed.

The costume designs are a wasted opportunity, leaning very heavily on the Muggle side of the equation (and if you're going to have Muggle school uniforms, then Hogwarts in the 1920s would have been gymslips and dresses for the girls, not tartan skirts), and I was unclear as to why Leta Lestrange had such a plunging neckline and Tina appeared to be cosplaying Herr Flick. I have decided to rationalise this in my own mind by saying that the WW's sudden adoption of Muggle clothing is a sign of a cultural crisis of confidence in the aftermath of the Great Muggle War. A crisis on which Grindelwald is able to capitalise.

Speaking of Grindelwald, Depp was OK, if not more than OK. He reins in the batshit almost too much, considering the character. Really Grindelwald ought to have been played by the most charismatic German native-speaker actor available who was aged between 45 and 50 and both able to act in English and carry off a very blond wig. Jude Law as Dumbledore, on the other hand, is excellent and comes across very warmly. I liked the Dumbledore and Grindelwald backstory very much and assume that this something we'll be drip-fed more of as the series continues, because why use it all up early when you know that you've got your Big Dramatic Fight coming? Darth Vader doesn't say "Just so you know, I am young Skywalker's father" in his first scene.

And now, because much as I am enjoying Lyndal Roper's recent biography of Luther it is not exactly a bedtime read, I think I'm going to reread the original series. It's been a while. I should get myself to the play, too, and stop having to dodge spoilers.

(no subject)

Date: 2018-11-20 08:43 pm (UTC)
mountainkiss: (Default)
From: [personal profile] mountainkiss
Christoph Waltz?

(no subject)

Date: 2018-11-21 08:07 am (UTC)
azdak: (Default)
From: [personal profile] azdak
I assumed your description was code for Christoph Waltz until I got to the blond wig, when doubts set in.

Personally I would suggest casting the amazing Birgit Minichmayer and not telling the audience that she's female. I'm confident she could pull it off.

(no subject)

Date: 2018-11-21 08:57 am (UTC)
legionseagle: Lai Choi San (Default)
From: [personal profile] legionseagle
There's a very good reason why in this particular case (fond as I am of gender-blind casting normally) casting a woman as Grindlewald would be a mistake ("Oh, closer than that." Pitch perfect, Judey baby.)

(no subject)

Date: 2018-11-21 03:01 pm (UTC)
azdak: (Default)
From: [personal profile] azdak
I wouldn't cast her as a woman, I'd cast her as a man.

(no subject)

Date: 2018-11-22 08:00 am (UTC)
From: (Anonymous)
I'm sure I would! But those people are at liberty to suggest who they would want to see in the role, they don't need me to do it for them. Personally, I would like to have seen Minichmayer do it.

(no subject)

Date: 2018-11-22 08:01 am (UTC)
azdak: (Default)
From: [personal profile] azdak
Sorry, that was me.

(no subject)

Date: 2018-11-28 02:03 pm (UTC)
azdak: (Default)
From: [personal profile] azdak
I hate him already.

(no subject)

Date: 2018-11-21 08:54 am (UTC)
legionseagle: Lai Choi San (Default)
From: [personal profile] legionseagle
Your comments on the casting of Grindlewald makes it all clear; give me a time-turner and Klaus-Maria Brandauer is a shoo-in for the part.

I agree with you about middle-film-itis (and costume comments) but I also enjoyed it for what it was.

I liked that Leta Lestrange had a complicated and sympathetic backstory (the hints in the first film, given her surname, were Not Promising).

I thought the actor playing young Scamander (whose name, alas, I missed in the credits, though we waited to the end) was awesome; he had both the main Scamander tics off to a T.

Also, I thought that the issue of Queenie's initial not OK behaviour was neatly tied up with her later not OK behaviour, and seen as stemming from the same impulse ("For The Greater Good".) I liked how that was also tied into the Leta backstory, and how that aspect was a low-key running theme throughout.

Very sorry for Nagini, obviously.

(no subject)

Date: 2018-11-21 12:06 pm (UTC)
el_staplador: Photo of Paris bus 3267, cropped to show route box, fleet number and French flag (3267)
From: [personal profile] el_staplador
Does it make sense without having seen the first one? I am going to have to see this one because my brother is driving a bus in it, but I gave up on the HP films about a decade ago and am not really bothered about catching up unless strictly necessary.

(no subject)

Date: 2018-11-20 09:41 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] timetiger.livejournal.com
I'm glad you posted about the film. I enjoyed it very much, too, and I'm looking forward to seeing it again in a few weeks. I didn't expect to like Jude Law's Dumbledore, but I did.

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