Opened: November 16, 2018

Directed by: David Yates

Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Zoë Kravitz, Callum Turner, Claudia Kim, William Nadylam, Kevin Guthrie, Toby Regbo, Jamie Campbell Bower, Carmen Ejogo, Brontis Jodorowsky, Fiona Glascott, Poppy Corby-Tuech, Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson & Jessica Williams

The Crimes of Grindelwald is the first major misstep in J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World franchise as the character-heavy and plot-devoid sequel to Fantastic Beasts becomes nothing more than a placeholder.

Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) escapes authorities as he’s being moved from the USA to Europe to stand trial. Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) tasks Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) with finding Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller), who survived his supposed death in New York.

Unfortunately, the story of Dumbledore and Grindelwald should have become its own spin-off rather than mixing it with Fantastic Beasts. By trying to continue Newt’s story while focusing on the Dumbledore-Grindelwald relationship, the plot becomes muddy.

There’s little character development. The one standout – for the wrong reasons – is Queenie (Alison Sudol) whose storyline makes sense theoretically, but her choices betray how she was set up.

Final say: Fantastically dull. ★★☆☆☆