Unlike the early Potter adventures, Fantastic Beasts, the first film in an intended five-part series, is darker, and more suited for older viewers who can grasp the film’s themes of segregation and xenophobia. A subplot involving a religious crazy (Samantha Morton) who mistreats kids and hunts witches might be especially disturbing for young kids.

With Eddie Redmayne’s deliciously shy Newt Scamander, the delightful sister duo of Tina and Queenie and no-maj Jacob, JK Rowling has done it again.

Most of the film is overwhelmed by extensive use of CGI, the plot of this caper seems a bit trite at times, but considering this is one-fifth of a new franchise, one hopes that better adventures will follow, with a profound insight into the Dumbledore-Grindelwald relationship.

All in all, audiences new and old alike are treated to an endearing adventure with the promise of more to come from J.K. Rowling.

Minor gripes aside, do not miss a minute of this film. It’s probably one of the best films you’ll watch this year that’s consistently engaging and entertaining.

Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them is mostly fantastic thanks to its visual appeal than dialogue. A little dreary because it thrusts muggle problems onto us even in the wizarding world,something which Harry Poyyer was less synonymous with.

Full of Spielbergian wonder and spectacle, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a well-written, well-directed and well-acted family film. It is rare that a spin-off of a highly popular franchise genuinely works as a film and not just exists as a cash cow (The Hobbit, Puss in Boots).

The set designs are out of this world, Colleen Atwood’s costumes makes the era come alive and the CGI is both inventive and affective. The story may not make much sense altogether, but the magical experience thereof is never limiting. This is, by far, the best Potter movie — even if it is not about him.

The titular beasts themselves are imaginative and fascinating, and how Scamander is connected to the beasts is an interesting commentary on how humans treat something they are not aware of in a negative manner. When the film isn’t dark and scary it’s also quite funny which is a breath of fresh air from the persistent gloom and doom of the previous four films.

If you are a Potterhead, you do not need a reason. But if action is your thing, Fantastic Beasts blends fantasy with it to suit your needs. Catch the movie in 3D to experience the best of the special effects. 

I cannot watch the movie multiple times but if you are a Potterhead, you must definitely watch it once.

And its shortcomings notwithstanding, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is thoroughly enigmatic and essential to be experienced on the big screen.

There is enough escapist entertainment, from well-staged battle sequences and signature British wit to explorations of Scamander’s never-ending suitcase (occasionally hampered by stodgy CGI), to make the film perfectly primed for the dreary times in which humanity finds itself.

It’s a triumphant return to the wizarding world and Rowling’s limitless imagination. Reports say Rowling and her team are currently editing the script for the second movie, which is scheduled to begin filming next year.

Can’t wait.