Review: Fantastic Beasts And How To Find Them

Decades before Harry Potter headed for magical adventures at Hogwarts, magizoologist Newt Scamander was out finding fabulous beasts - and educating other wizards about them. This JK Rowling-penned "prequel" is the first of a five-part Harry Potter spinoff franchise (originally intended as a trilogy, but things got out of hand - much like the creatures in the movie).

And what a start!

I've never been a Harry Potter fan, particularly. In fact, I'm not certain I've seen any of the films right through (though my kids were fans). But I thought this film was sensational!

Why? Well, the story is a classic: good vs evil, wizards vs Muggles story (except because it's set in 1920s New York rather than England, ordinary folk are not Muggles but non-majs) but with the odd twist to keep it from becoming too predictable. And I loved the fact the lead was not all-powerful - in fact, his vulnerability was a large part of his appeal.

Eddie Redmayne is perfectly cast as Newt - but it was hard to fault the cast at all. There are some big names in there (Colin Farrell, Jon Voight, Samantha Morton - and Johnny Depp in a surprise cameo that hints of bigger roles in future Beasts instalments!) but also a number of fresher names, like the wonderful Katherine Waterston (daughter of The Killing Fields Sam Waterston, who shares not only his understated acting prowess but also his soulful eyes). I was particularly taken, too, by Dan Fogler and Alison Sudol - neither of who I'd ever seen in anything before (mainly because their prior acting roles are few and/or not mainstream). But to a man (woman, child) - casting was ideal.

Hats off to the CGI team and costuming department too - and of course, big kudos to the beasts themselves. The pilfering platypus is quite simply my favourite character on screen this year.

And my date for the night - my 18 year old son who grew up with Harry Potter and is one of the most critical moviegoers I know - said it was the best film he'd seen this year. "It's dope", he added. I understand this is high praise indeed.

The best thing I can say about this film? It totally transported me to another world - and don't all the best films do that?

A fantastic film about fantastic beasts - I highly recommend it even for those of us previously immune to Rowling Fever. Just one small proviso though - I'm not sure how dark Harry Potter got, but this film is very dark in places and not really suitable for the smaller non-majs amongst us.

Rated M. Contains violence