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With "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," writer J.K. Rowling welcomes us back to the wizarding world she created in a movie that's more about world-building than an entirely cohesive narrative.
Rowling, writing directly for the screen for the first time, takes us to New York in 1926, decades before the adventures of young Harry Potter and his friends. America has its wizarding community, though they live in hiding for fear of reprisal from nervous muggles (or, as they are called in the States, no-maj's).
Arriving in New York harbor is Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), a magizoologist, an expert on exotic and magical creatures. In his case he keeps a vast menagerie of these creatures, and trouble starts when one of them — a Niffler, a platypus-looking marsupial who is attracted to gold, silver and other shiny baubles — gets loose in a Manhattan bank.
As Newt tries to recapture the Niffler, he's spotted by Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler), a no-maj baker. Kowalski winds up with Newt's case, and soon other creatures are on the loose.
Meanwhile, Newt is caught by Porpetina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston), who works for the Magical Congress of the United States of America, the MACUSA, America's version of the Ministry of Magic. MACUSA's offices, hidden within the Woolworth Building, look like the HQ of the Men in Black, and both agencies have the same mission: keeping outsiders unaware of the weirdness going on around them.
The MACUSA's chief Auror, Percival Graves, has a bigger problem on its hands than Newt's missing beasts: an invisible entity destroying buildings around Manhattan. While the MACUSA investigates that case and whether there's a connection to an anti-witch cult (led by Samantha Morton), the president, Seraphina Picquery (Carmen Ejogo), ponders whether the attacks here are related to what's going on in Europe around the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald.
The name Grindelwald is one of many Rowling drops throughout "Fantastic Beasts," and longtime "Potter" fans will smile reflexively every time they hear a recognizable proper noun. Equally familiar is the pacing, as director David Yates — who helmed the last four "Potter" movies and is signed on to direct all five installments Rowling has planned for this franchise — follows the formula of action set pieces interspersed with chunks of expository dialogue and wizard lingo.
Redmayne, who often comes off as too mannered in his performances, is a nice fit for Scamander, eccentric and smart, a little naive but also firmly resolute when the chips are down. It will be interesting seeing him grow into this role, as the "Fantastic Beasts" franchise gets past its set-up and gets on to weaving the kind of spellbinding epic tale we know Rowling can tell like nobody else.
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'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'
J.K. Rowling sets us up for a rousing epic in her wizarding world, in a movie that promises more than it delivers.
Where • Theaters everywhere.
When • Opens Friday, Nov. 18.
Rating • PG-13 for some fantasy action violence.
Running time • 133 minutes.