Hammerle on… “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” “Widows”

“Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald”

Though I really liked the first “Fantastic Beasts” film, the sequel, “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” is a film whose artistic beauty is the only thing that will prevent you from falling asleep. All the major characters repeat themselves from beginning to end.

That starts with the very talented Eddie Redmayne, who again appears as Newt Scamander, a magizoologist who remains dedicated to helping beasts large and small. He soon becomes involved in a battle with the fascist wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp — more later) at the request of his former mentor, Albus Dumbledore. Jude Law plays Dumbledore in a largely forgettable role.

While Depp’s Grindelwald is on a mission to control the world, Scamander is joined by his old allies, Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston), Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler) and Queenie Goldstein (Alison Sudol) to try to stop him. While the battle that you expect to take place doesn’t occur until the film’s ending, nearly everything before then is a series of tedious scenes that are soon followed by other tedious scenes.

Ironically, Fogler’s Kowalski is the only remotely engaging character in the entire film. At least he faces danger without losing his sense of humor. Nonetheless, the film’s lackadaisical quality is reflected by the sad fact that Mr. Redmayne appears in nearly every scene walking as if he has some orthopedic problem in one of his shoulders while never changing his facial expression. Regrettably, while Waterston is a talented actress, this is a two-hour film that would have been better advertised as a sequel to “Dazed and Confused.”

However, even if you excuse the film’s lackluster quality, it is robbed of any significance by the grinding performance of Depp as Grindelwald. Like nearly every other character in the movie, good guy or villain, he seldom changes facial expressions. On top of that, his character appears to be a recreation of Adolf Hitler with hair dyed blonde who is seeking to take over the world regardless of who has to die in the process. After all, the film takes place in Europe in 1927.

Quite frankly, I suspect that the only individuals who will enjoy this film are fans dedicated to the entire history of the Harry Potter movies. The screenwriter for this film is J.K. Rowling, and Potter aficionados will likely find some fun with the appearance of characters from the old days. For example, Newt’s scheming older brother Theseus Scamander (Callum Turner) reappears with his fiancé Lita Lestrange (Zoë Kravitz), while you will see Ezra Miller playing a terribly confused Credence Barebone, who seeks the help of Nagini (Claudia Kim), a mysterious woman who can transform into a giant snake. There are others, but they drift in and out of the film so quickly that they soon lose any significance.

It will be interesting to see what happens in this series, as it has been advertised as the second of five films to be released. I can only advise them to rediscover that suspense lies at the heart of all Potter films.

“Widows”

“Widows” is a complex film within a film that involves surprises that no reviewer dares give away. Directed by Steve McQueen, who previously brought us the memorable “Twelve Years a Slave” (2013), and co-written with Gillian Flynn (remember “Gone Girl”?), it leaves you embroiled in a Chicago election battle as four widows fight to keep from suffering the same fate as their late husbands.

It is giving nothing away to say that the four late husbands are quickly wiped out at the beginning of the film as they attempted to steal $2 million. The leader of our deceased gang is played by Liam Neeson, and this is one of his best performances after a series of forgettable movies.

Neeson’s wife, Veronica, is played by Viola Davis, the leader of a local union who is in agony over losing a husband she dearly loved. However, her emotional distress is overwhelmed when one of the candidates for a local office, Jamal Manning (played by Brian Tyree Henry), demands the return of the $2 million her late husband stole from him or she will be violently killed.

The local political campaign evolves into a battle between Manning and Jack Mulligan, a caustic young candidate played by Colin Farrell. Farrell’s Mulligan is stepping into the shoes of his racist father (another great performance from Robert Duvall) who has long held the office. In the process, Veronica concocts a scheme to steal some money to save her own life.

As Veronica plans a robbery, she involves three of the four widows of the dead crooks who died with her husband. While Davis is as good here as she was in her Oscar-winning performance in “Fences” (2016), Elizabeth Debicki and Michelle Rodriguez are startlingly powerful playing Alice and Linda, two women who know when it is time to get down and dirty. Wait until you see the scene where they meet in a sauna to hatch their robbery plan and are subsequently forced to buy guns and learn how to shoot accurately.

Let me also mention two other roles that tie you to this cinematic magnet. Cynthia Erivo gives a fascinating turn as Belle, a hairdresser who joins the gang as the driver of their getaway car. Once you watch her performance, you will also want to hunt down her role in the recent “Bad Times at the El Royale.” Finally, Daniel Kaluuya is devastatingly powerful as a hitman working for Manning, and he is one of the most violent thugs to hit the big screen in quite some time.

In closing, director McQueen adds an interesting twist to this film by having Davis constantly carry her pet dog to almost every location. Let me assure you that nothing violent ever occurs to this fluffy little white hound, and this cute spud basically serves as McQueen’s ice cream on his cinematic cake.•

• Robert Hammerle practices criminal law in Indianapolis. When he is not in the courtroom or the office, Bob can likely be found at one of his favorite movie theaters watching and preparing to review the latest films. To read more of his reviews, visit www.bigmouthbobs.com. Opinions expressed are those of the author.